Star Fox: Kidnapped
by general whitefur
Summary: Desperate people do desperate things, and Andrew Oikonny and his Venomian villains are desperate indeed. Hatching a plan to kidnap Fox McCloud and use him to force Corneria to release Andross's old war criminal cronies, Oikonny and his ilk think they have a sure fire way to jump start their little dictatorship. They've forgotten one crucial thing though. Krystal.
1. Prologue

A/N:This was supposed to go up yesterday, but I got caught in some real life stuff. From here on this story will be uploading every other week. I hope you all enjoy, and let the adventure begin!

* * *

 **Prologue**

Striding with purpose Wolf O'Donnell made his way down the corridors of the Venomian flagship _Androssia_. It almost felt like old times. During the Lylat War he'd worked closely with the Venomians. He and his team had been the ace pilots of the Venomian military, taking on the most dangerous and spectacular missions, and serving as escorts for prominent members of Andross's inner circle. The politics of it had been of little concern to Wolf. It had paid well, and frankly, before Star Fox had entered the fray during the invasion of Corneria, Andross had seemed like the winning side.

Things were, of course, different now. Andross was long dead. His army was decimated, and the most recent attempt at a rebellion against the hegemony of the Cornerian Federation had left the remnants of the fleet either destroyed or severely damaged. Venom was far from the force to be reckoned with that it had once been. Then, neither was Corneria.

Pausing to glance out one of the viewports along the corridor Wolf spotted several cruisers floating in their escort positions around the flagship. In the distance he could see the green, poisonous ball of Venom itself, guarded by the Area 6 defense platforms and a Bolse class station that Venom's new leader, Andrew Oikonny, had managed to get up and running before his defeat at Fortuna. These would have been far from impenetrable defenses if not for one key event: the Aparoid invasion.

Wolf had fought alongside Star Fox as all of Lylat battled for survival against the nano-machine bugs. There had been a few times Wolf thought they'd lose, and that Lylat would get turned into another Aparoid spawning nest. But they'd come out of it on top. And Corneria had come out with its fleet cut in half, and that had given Venom the chance to rebuild. It had also given Wolf and his band of merry criminals the chance to prey on just about every space lane outside of direct routes to Corneria. His wealth had grown considerably, and mostly because the Venomians were willing to buy the stolen resources he acquired. Seemed they were partners again. Even if it grated on him that one of those partners was Andrew Oikonny, who had once had to take orders from Wolf as a member of his team, and had been the worst flier among them. How had he been the one to end up with the interplanetary empire and not Wolf?

Putting those thoughts aside Wolf resumed his walk. A few officers and crew passed him along the way. No salutes, but there were a few nods here and there, mostly from the older types, the hardcore ones who had actually swallowed Andross's whole 'enlightened rule' philosophy. To them Wolf had been crafted into a hero during the war, and the propaganda had gotten him quite the following.

True believers however were fewer and more far between for Venom these days. Failure had a tendency to make propaganda look like what it was, and most of Venom's military were pirates and mercenaries, no different in their motivations from Wolf and his crew. It actually made Wolf feel more at home.

Stopping at the end of the corridor in front of a door with Oikonny's big simian face painted on it in black and white, Wolf nodded to the guards and pressed his thumb against the scanner. It hummed and he felt the warmth of the sensor beams reading both his thumb print and his DNA, and then the doors slid apart. Wolf walked in without further ceremony and said, "What do you want?"

Sitting behind a huge metal desk, with a high back chair, Andrew Oikonny glanced at him in mild irritation. One arm, now a prosthetic, rested on the desk, and the ape said, "I need you for a mission."

"Okay. You know my rates." Wolf sat down in a chair on his side of the desk and propped his booted feet up on the desk. Oikonny grimaced. Wolf smiled. They were partners, and Oikonny knew that Wolf would have no problem walking away if he felt mistreated, or the money wasn't good enough. This was business, plain and simple, and unlike Andross, Oikonny wasn't very intimidating. "So, what's the job?"

"I want you to kidnap someone." Oikonny put his other hand on the desk and slid a computer slate over to him.

Wolf picked it up and arched an eyebrow. Oh, now this was interesting. "Him? Really?"

"Yes." Oikonny nodded. "He'll be the perfect hostage. We'll trade him for all the Venomian prisoners Corneria is still holding."

Not a bad plan. Corneria had more than a few important Venomians locked up, Venomians with contacts and resources that Oikonny could use to begin rebuilding his fleet and expanding his empire.

Scrolling through the information Oikonny's spies had managed to put together Wolf grinned. "You're sure about this?"

Oikonny nodded. "Absolutely."

"Fine. I'll do it. For triple my rate." Wolf hid a smile at the annoyed expression that crossed Oikonny's face.

"I'd think you'd do this for free."

"You'd think. But I want triple. This is a dangerous assignment." Wolf took out his communicator and downloaded all the data from the slate to his device, then tossed the slate back on the desk and pocketed his communicator.

"Fine. I need this done. I'm giving you one of our last stealth cruisers," Oikonny said. "It's been modified and should let you grab him without any trouble."

Wolf nodded. Good. He didn't lay more than fifty-fifty odds on doing this by pure force. This target was not to be underestimated. "Fine. I'll get my team together."

Oikonny nodded and made a dismissive wave. Wolf ignored it. Triple his usual rate made him forgiving as he walked out and headed for the hangar. He took a lift down and then emerged in the wide open space of the _Androssia_ 's hangar. He made a beeline for the trio of Wolfens sitting on the deck, and he spotted Leon standing stiffly and Panther...where the fuck was Panther? "Leon. Where's Panther?"

Leon rolled one eye and pointed. Wolf followed the gesture and spotted the feline. He had cornered a pair of female techs and was leaning in close, brushing his fingers along the chin of one of them. Both of them had that wide eyed look that told Wolf if he didn't step in quick he wasn't likely to see his third pilot for at least two or three hours.

Frowning Wolf stalked over to him and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on Panther. Get your dick wet later."

"Boss!" Panther screeched. "I was about to..."

"Yeah yeah." Wolf rolled his one good eye and suppressed an urge to wag his tail. Behind him the techs giggled and Panther tried to escape and get back to them. Wolf tightened his grip until Panther started mewling. He relented once they were back to the Wolfens, tossing Panther forward. "We have a job."

Panther looked like he was about to protest, but the mention of a job got his attention. His two greatest weaknesses, money and women. "What's the mission?"

This time Wolf did let his tail wag. A grin crossed his face and he looked at each of his teammates, then said, "We're gonna kidnap Fox McCloud."


	2. Fox-Napped

**Chapter 1**

 **Fox-Napped**

 _Breep! Breep! Breep!_

Rolling over in bed Fox McCloud groaned and slapped the dismiss button on his alarm clock. When was the last time he'd woken up before six in the morning? He couldn't remember, probably because it was six in the morning and he couldn't remember anything.

Throwing the sheets off he swung his legs out of bed and rubbed his hands across his face, willing his eyes to stay open. "Krystal? You awake?" he asked. There was no response. She really must have been fast asleep. Strange, he didn't remember them having...oh.

Looking over his shoulder Fox felt his heart sink at the sight of the emptiness of his bed. He'd gotten used to seeing a blue vixen in it, wrapped up under the covers, or sometimes on top of them on a warm night. He'd gotten used to waking up and feeling her soft lips against his, and tasting that morning breath that had never bothered him. With a sigh he patted the empty side of the bed and muttered, "Soon."

Getting out of bed he headed for the kitchen. The coffee machine had come on automatically, and a steaming pot of the bitter black liquid awaited him. He poured and brought it to his lips, sipping the hot bean water. It stung his tongue and tasted like battery acid. Just the way he liked it.

In the adjoining living room Fox sank down into one of the bowl chairs that sat in front of the floor to ceiling window. Most of his house was transparent aluminum, allowing a three hundred sixty degree field of vision. It was also opaque from the outside. A smile crossed his lips as a lewd memory of himself and Krystal came to mind. She had looked spectacular pressed up against the bedroom window.

He took another sip of his bean water and then said, "News."

The house reacted immediately, displaying a series of holographic current headlines on the window. Nothing all that interesting. Reconstruction efforts for Corneria City and other areas that were hit by the Aparoids were continuing apace, and the Cornerian fleet was being slowly rebuilt in the remaining shipyards. There were a few headlines about pirate activity, especially around Fortuna and Fichina. Though Fox didn't wish pirate attacks on anyone, he would admit that their increasing frequency had led to the Star Fox team having a pretty steady flow of jobs.

"News off." Fox let his eyes drift shut for a moment. Today was his last morning on Corneria. He'd been on and off this planet for the past four months for closed door hearings about the battle at the Aparoid homeworld. Being one of the only people to have direct contact with the Aparoid Queen meant that just about every government and military organization wanted to plumb him for every scrap of insight and information he could give. He'd also been dodging journalists and conspiracy theorists trying to get him on the record or to do interviews on their shows. Not to mention the tabloids that were desperate for pictures of him and Krystal.

Krystal. Thinking about her made all of his worries melt away. She would be on Sauria right now, waiting for him to join her for a few weeks of well deserved rest and recreation. They'd chosen Sauria because of its remoteness, along with the fact that there was no one there who wanted an interview or a selfie. No, there it would only be friendly dinosaurs, the occasional Krazoa spirit, and soft grass and warm sunshine. His heart ached, wanting to be there with her right now. They would go for a swim in the crystal clear waters of Cape Claw, catch some fish and make their own lunch. They'd relax in the sand and tell stories and watch the clouds go by. The sun would set and they'd hold each other close and make love on the beach, under the stars. It would be perfect.

Opening his eyes Fox finished the rest of his coffee and stood up. He had to get through one more hearing today. Closed door, no cameras. He'd suffer through two hours of questions from Cornerian politicians and military and intelligence officers, drink a lot of water, take a pee, and then he'd be in his Arwing and heading for Sauria. _Not much longer my love, and I'll be with you,_ he thought. He smiled when he felt the gentle presence of her behind him. He didn't bother to look. He knew she wasn't there. But, he also knew that she had heard him. And that gave him the strength to make it through the morning.

()()()()

"Thank you for your time, Captain McCloud," the councilman said, nodding his head at Fox. "We appreciate your willingness to appear before the committee."

Fox put on his best smile and said, "My pleasure."

"This hearing is adjourned." With a bang of the gavel Fox was free from hell. Oh well, it wasn't that bad. There were journalists in the back taking notes and making audio recordings, but no cameras. Fox hated cameras. He valued his privacy, and he didn't like people thinking that his line of work was something that should grant him celebrity status. The most he'd agreed to was to allow a sketch artist to make drawings of the hearings.

As people began to clear out Fox turned around and spotted Peppy walking up to him. Standing up Fox smiled and embraced his friend and mentor. "Hey, thanks for coming."

Peppy returned the embrace and said, "No problem. I have my own hearing in a couple hours."

"They gonna make you a general?" Fox joked. There had been a lot of talk about that in the press, now that General Pepper had announced his intention to retire, and the President had given him her permission. Peppy had led the Cornerian assault on the Aparoid homeworld, and he'd managed to get most of the fleet home. Most, but not all. He was, nevertheless, being celebrated as a hero.

"More like I might end up as homeworld security advisor or something like that," Peppy answered with a shrug. "If I agree. Retirement still sounds good."

Fox chuckled. "If anyone deserves it you do. But I think you'd get bored."

Stroking his mustache Peppy replied, "You never know. What about you? Where are you headed after this?"

"At the moment I'm going to the bathroom. I think I drank too much water." Fox flicked his ears in a sheepish gesture. "Then I'm off to Sauria. Krystal and I have been wanting to take a vacation for awhile, and I have the time now. She's waiting for me."

"That's great." Peppy smiled, a big, proud, happy smile that made Fox's heart leap at the gesture of approval. "I can't believe you two waited as long you did."

"Yeah. Me either." The two of them headed out of the hearing room and Fox made a beeline for the restrooms. Behind him he heard a crowd of journalists following him, all yelling to get his attention. Fox increased his pace. When he reached the doors to the men's room he turned to Peppy and said, "Cover me."

Peppy nodded and moved to intercept the horde. Fox slipped in and quickly made his way to a urinal. When his business was done he washed his hands and took a deep breath before heading back out. Peppy had managed to hold off the hostile squadron and the hare rejoined him with a shouted "no further comment."

"That was hairy," Peppy said.

"What did they ask about?" Fox asked, the two of them exiting the building and making their way down the steps leading from the Capitol Tower. Around them, moving up and down the stairs, were numerous Council aides and a few Council people, not to mention activist representatives, special interest lobbyists, journalists, tour groups, and a few corporate executives. Down below, in cordoned off areas, Fox could see cameras with reporters, and crowds of people who always seemed to be protesting something. Democracy in action. Fox ignored them.

"All the usual stuff." Peppy shrugged and pointed to a cafe. "Lunch?"

"Sure." Fox turned towards the nearest street crossing. He pulled at his dress shirt and unbuttoned his suit. He hated dressing like this.

As soon as they entered the cafe they were taken to a table outside. It was a nice day out, and Fox liked the fresh air. They sat down and ordered coffee, the necessary evil of life, and took a brief look at the menu before Fox decided on the chicken sandwich.

"Where are Falco and Slippy these days?" Peppy asked, waving for the nearest waitress.

"Slippy is working with his dad on some project," Fox said. "Falco is probably getting drunk somewhere." When Peppy arched a disapproving eyebrow Fox added, "I'm kidding. He's bumming around here, mostly pestering Slippy to build him a custom Arwing. He wants it to be called the _Skyclaw_ and is demanding it be, in his words, 'super badass.'"

That got a chuckle out of Peppy. "He never changes." The waitress came over and smiled a genuinely beaming smile. Peppy ordered a salad, Fox got his sandwich, then managed not to grimace when she asked him for his autograph. He signed one for her, and then blushed when he saw what appeared in front of him through a slight of hand that would have made a magician proud. "What is it?" Peppy asked.

"Phone number," Fox mumbled.

"Been getting a lot of them?"

"Unfortunately." Fox sighed and stuck it in his pocket. When Peppy registered a look of surprise he blushed even more. "Krystal's starting a collection."

"She is." Peppy's tone was more incredulous than questioning.

"She says she's going to put them in a scrapbook," Fox replied, his blush only increasing. "I guess she takes it as a point of pride that I'm so...uh...you know. And that, well, I'm only, you know, interested in her."

"Uh huh." Peppy continued staring at him.

"Shut up," Fox grumbled.

Finally Peppy let go of his intense scrutiny. "Remind me to show you the scrapbook your mother kept. Basically the same thing."

"What?" Fox shook his head. "She did not."

"Your father was very popular with the ladies," Peppy said. "And your mother enjoyed teasing him about it. Figures you would suffer the same fate."

Muttering something about everyone in the galaxy being out to tease him Fox smiled again at the waitress when she brought him his sandwich, and then ate in silence and watched the people go by. When they were both done Fox paid the tab and walked back out with Peppy.

"Well, good luck with your hearing," Fox said, hugging the older hare.

"It'll be a piece of cake." Peppy slapped him on the back. "You and Krystal have fun. Just remember, we might need you again before too long."

"Great." Fox shook his head. "One of these days Corneria is gonna have to learn to take care of its own problems."

"Oh that'll be when hell freezes over," Peppy warned him with a laugh.

Fox chuckled, but in some part of his mind he wondered how much humor there really was in that.

()()()()

Beneath him the bright blue orb of Corneria faded into the distance. Fox engaged his Arwing's autopilot and reclined his seat. These newer Arwings were a bit less cramped than the original versions, and the ability to stretch his legs out made these longer flights much more comfortable. He'd still rather take the _Great Fox_ if it were an option, but it wasn't. They'd lost her at the Aparoid homeworld. At least he knew her replacement was already well under construction.

It would take about nine hours for him to reach Sauria. Nine hours until he would have sand and grass between his toes, sun on his back, and his warm, lovely, sexy vixen beneath him. Or on top of him, Fox had never been picky.

He remembered back to that first day they'd met. She'd come up to the _Great Fox_ , determined to deliver a thank you in person. In spite of the seeming innocence of the act Fox had sensed that there was more to it. There had been. And no, it hadn't been some thing where in her gratitude for him saving her life she'd offered to do every kinky thing he'd ever fantasized about. Just because she'd worn some scanty tribal dress, which was more than reasonable considering the tropical world she'd come from, people assumed the worst.

What had really happened was that Fox had nearly missed out on the chance of a lifetime. He'd stood there awkwardly when she asked him to walk her back to her ship, and it had taken a firm talking to from Falco to get it through Fox's head that she wanted to stay. He'd asked her, and the joy in her eyes had told him everything he'd needed to know.

Probably the proudest moment in his life was when she had joined the team. Pinning the emblem on her chest, and seeing the pride and purpose in her own eyes had felt like the culmination of so many of the moments they had shared. Training her in the use of Lylatian firearms. Watching as she smoked Falco for the first time in a head to head flight training session. Coaching her on her first press interview. All of it had felt as if it had finally come together on that day.

Then, a few months later, the team's first real mission had come in. They had been dispatched to help the Cornerian fleet battle Oikonny above Fortuna. It was their first big combat deployment with Krystal as a member of the team. They'd engaged in a few skirmishes against pirates and criminals, but nothing like what awaited them over Fortuna. Fox had been scared out of his mind, though he'd done his best not to let on.

Down that corridor they'd sprinted, hopping into their Arwings. Peppy warned them that Oikonny was no pushover, and then they'd been off into battle. Krystal had performed beautifully. All his fears had evaporated the moment he and Krystal paired off to take the fight to the enemy's frigates. As he'd blasted their central plasma cores, Krystal had annihilated an entire squadron that was sent to try and stop them.

When the Aparoid had appeared though things had changed. It had attacked Krystal. The beam had nearly crippled her Arwing, and Fox had heard her scream. In his nightmares that sound had always paralyzed him with fear. He would freeze up, unable to do anything but watch as she was torn apart. Sometimes it would be in space, and he would see her Arwing go crashing down into a planet, or explode right there, a brief supernova against the stars. Other times they would be on the ground, and he would see her fall to the ground with a hole through her belly, or be forced to witness her being stabbed mercilessly by some primitive SharpClaw mercenary. In every one of his nightmares she died, and he was able to do nothing to protect her.

More than once those dreams had made him consider keeping her off the team. He had almost told her so on more than one occasion, almost canceled her training and pulled the rug out from under her for fear of her safety. No, for fear that he wouldn't be able to keep her safe. It had nothing to do with her abilities, nothing to do with the misguided idea that she couldn't take care of herself. It had everything to do with Fox's fear that, because he cared for her so deeply, when the moment came his fear would win out, and he would fail her.

That day, fighting against the Aparoid moth, had changed everything. Her scream hadn't frightened him. Hadn't sent him into a terror fueled death spiral. Instead it had enraged him. Every protective instinct in his body and in his mind and in his heart had come raging to the fore, and he had torn apart the alien who dared try to harm the one person in this universe he loved more than anyone, anything, else. From that day on Fox had never again considered asking her to leave the team, and his nightmares had never returned. He would fight to protect her to his dying breath, and he knew she would do the same for him.

He harbored no illusions that they were invincible. That, like in some comic book story, their bond would make it so that no enemy could ever hope to stand against them. But that latent fear only lent a sense urgency to their relationship. They cherished every moment of safety, and when the danger of battle came, they clung to their love to find the determination they needed to come out alive on the other side. One day it might not be enough, but it would never be because they weren't trying.

Time and again they proved the power of that bond during the conflict with the Aparoids. Fox couldn't count how many times they had saved each other, and the memory of how fiercely they fought sent shivers down his spine.

After the defeat of the Aparoid Queen it was clear to both of them that the experience of that war, however brief and devastating it might have been, had changed things between them. The flirting and the close friendship were no longer enough. Fox recalled the lingering gaze they had shared in the hangar bay of the Cornerian ship that would take them home. Remembered the way his throat had felt and his mouth had tasted as anticipation built in his mind for what he knew awaited both of them. He'd never gone through the pleasantries of being welcomed aboard a ship and assigned guest quarters so quickly.

After returning to his quarters he took a shower and left the door unlocked. He had expected to feel nervous, worried, stressed, but instead he felt a calm confidence as he came out of the shower, towel around his waist, and found her sitting on the edge of his bed. There hadn't been any words. Instead they'd shared a kiss, and he'd pressed her into the mattress as she spread her legs, and after that had been the most blissful time of his life.

 _Weep! Weep! Weep!_

Fox was startled from his reverie by the sound of a proximity alarm going off. Straightening up he glanced at the chrono. He'd been traveling for a few hours. He was out in deep interplanetary space, on a lonely travel lane to Sauria. Activating all his scanners he tried to get a fix on where the ship was. He wasn't receiving a hail, and there were no navigation beams that he could detect. That didn't make any sense.

Rather than take his Arwing evasive, which was his first instinct, Fox brought his Arwing to a halt. If he couldn't see where the ship was he risked colliding with it if he kept moving or maneuvered too sharply. He kept scanning, and then frowned when his boards started lighting up with increases in chroniton particles in local space. "What?" Where was Slippy when you needed him.

Then the proximity alarm went off again, this time louder. There was definitely something out there. He could detect the ship's mass, but he couldn't pinpoint a location.

Ahead of him he saw a ripple in space. He might have put it down to his eyes playing tricks on him, but then the ripple appeared again. And then he saw something that looked almost like lightning and he put two and two together. "A stealth squadron."

He thought he'd destroyed all of them above Fortuna. Looks like he'd been wrong. Bringing his weapons and shields online Fox waited for the ship to appear. It did, a boxy piece of junk with missile racks that could melt a Cornerian assault ship. The racks opened and Fox got ready to open fire the moment the ship dropped its shields to unleash its weapons. But it didn't. Fox frowned.

In the center of the ship he spotted something glowing, and too late he realized what it was. A massive burst of electromagnetic radiation fired from the ship, and the Arwing's systems sputtered and died. Fox cursed colorfully and started toggling on the emergency systems. It would take the Arwing forty seconds to come back online, an eternity in this kind of situation. If he could do it though...

Another beam emerged from the center of the stealth ship. Green and shimmering he realized what it was when he felt himself being drawn towards the small hangar that had opened up. A tractor beam. Knowing there was no chance of escape now Fox took a cleansing breath, then grabbed his blaster pistol from where it was latched beneath his seat. He checked the charge and readied himself.

The Arwing passed through the atmospheric shields of the hangar bay, and Fox looked around. Only three other ships occupied the small space. He recognized them instantly. Wolfens. Star Wolf.

Settling down gently as the tractor beam terminated Fox popped the canopy of his Arwing and hopped down to the ground. He looked around, expecting a welcoming party. Instead he saw no one, and smelled nothing but the bland, recycled life support. Then he felt a weight come in from behind him and crush him against the floor. His nose twitched at the familiar reptilian scent, now close enough to detect. Leon! No wonder he hadn't seen anyone, the damn chameleon had been blending in. His ears plastered against his skull and he tried to struggle. He flipped over on his back and tried to bring his weapon up, but he grimaced when it was kicked out of his hand. He glanced to the side, not moving his head, and saw the visage of Panther Caroso leering down at him, a blaster in his hand.

Heavy footfalls came running towards him, and Fox knew who he'd see next. Leon was holding him down, and Panther continued leering at him, the look almost identical to the one he'd given Krystal the only time they'd been in the same room together. Figured he went both ways.

"You're a pitiful sight, pup."

Leon got off of him and Fox got to his feet, bringing his fists up. Then he realized how pointless that would be. Panther had a gun on him, and Leon was drawing his own with a snicker. Wolf stared at him with his one good eye and his cybernetic implant, and Fox said, "What do you want?"

Wolf reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, you'll find out. Now, I get the feeling you're gonna be trouble so..."

Without any warning Wolf socked Fox in the stomach. Fox grimaced and went down on his knees. He managed to stay upright, and he used the last bit of breath in his lungs to spit on Wolf's boots. Then there was the _brap_ of a blaster firing on the stun setting and Fox collapsed forward. He felt his consciousness slipping away, and with the last nanosecond he he had he did the only thing he could think of. _Krystal! Help!_


	3. Aquaphobia

**Chapter 2**

 **Aquaphobia**

Deep in the rain forested hills outside of ThornTail Hollow, Krystal Zonoc felt more at ease with herself and her surroundings than she had in months. As a girl she'd grown up in a small town, with no building higher than three stories, and with lush jungle mountains on one side, and the ocean on the other. Her world had been far from primitive, but it had taken a different path from Lylat. Her people had always lived as simply as possible, and Krystal found that Sauria, where the dinosaurs were largely unconcerned with the goings on outside of their atmosphere, and were instead committed to grazing and sleeping, was more familiar and relatable to her than the busy streets of Corneria City, or the rough frontier settlements of Katina.

Vaulting over a fallen log Krystal felt her boots sink into the moist earth beneath her with a smile. It was so much like her own world, Cerinia. That place was lost to her forever, and it still brought with it a pang of bitter sadness, but lately it had come with its own sweetness as well. She had lost her home, only to be welcomed into the arms of a second. Sauria, and Lylat as a whole, were now the place that her mind thought of when someone asked where her home was, but where her heart rested was somewhere else.

"When is Fox getting here?" the dinosaur next to her asked.

Wagging her tail, Krystal said, "He'll get here soon, Tricky."

Prince Tricky, now one of the leaders of Dinosaur Planet, had been a friend to her and Fox for what felt like a long time, but, oddly enough, hadn't been much more than a year. He'd grown significantly since their first meeting during the Saurian Crisis, and Krystal could have easily ridden on him to the object of their little expedition, but she'd felt more inclined to walk. The exercise did her good, and it seemed rude to ride on Tricky when she didn't need to, and when he hadn't offered.

"How soon is soon?"

"Probably today," Krystal said. That was assuming his hearing hadn't gone long, and that nothing else had come up in the aftermath. Try as he might Fox wasn't going to be able to dodge the journalists and fan mobs forever. _I wonder how many phone numbers he'll have when he gets here,_ she thought ruefully. Her scrapbook could very well turn into a library if they did anything else heroic. And not just the phone numbers he got. The number of men who hit on her was truly astonishing. On Cerinia she might have punched them for propositioning her, though on Corneria that would have been considered assault, so she'd restrained herself. Besides, the ensuing media circus wouldn't have been worth it.

"What time today?" Tricky asked.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Krystal said, "I'm not sure. We'll see."

"Can you call him and ask him?"

If she weren't telepathic Krystal might have assumed that Tricky's eagerness to have Fox arrive was because he didn't enjoy her company. If that were the case she might even have been a bit insulted. As it stood though she knew that it stemmed more from the fact that Tricky, despite his size, was still in many ways a child. He always complained that Fox treated him like one, and it was a continuing dispute between them when Fox would finally stop doing that. Fox said it would be when he stopped acting like one, and Tricky argued that he had and, well, it was like arguing with a child.

"I could, but I'm not going to. He'll be here when he gets here." Tricky muttered something and Krystal laughed. Sometimes he forgot she could speak Saurian as well as the natives. "Why don't you tell me more about where it is we're going?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Tricky nodded, and the sun caught on the jeweled headpiece he wore. It still amazed her that he was royalty. For whatever that meant on Dinosaur Planet. "The Krazoa said they lost something in a cave around here. Some old temple? Something like that."

"And what is it?" Krystal asked. A lot of people might have been shocked to think of the Krazoa as having lost something. Many Lylatians labored under the misconception that, because they were made of magical energy and could manipulate dark matter, they were somehow omnipotent gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. They had plenty of their own weaknesses, and unlike a god they did not know all and see all.

"A gemstone I think."

"You think?" Krystal frowned. "Tricky, this is kind of important."

"It's a gemstone. Solid emerald. They said it was...keyed to telepathic winds?" Tricky scrunched his features in concentration. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what they said."

"Huh." Krystal took Tricky at his word. If she couldn't find it she'd fly out to Krazoa Palace and get the information herself. The Krazoa would understand. They were peaceful and well intentioned spirits. Although those good intentions had, on occasion, been used to manipulate them. It sickened her to think of how Andross had tricked the spirits into capturing her and reviving him. Perhaps some good had come out of it though. If not for her imprisonment she might never have met Fox, and in her mind the gain of meeting Fox, and falling in love, and being able to rest in his arms when they were together, was worth any amount of suffering. "Telepathic winds. I'm not sure I've ever heard of them."

Tricky didn't say anything. He knew about as much about the Krazoa as most dinosaurs did. Which was to say not a terribly large amount. They knew that, through some means of dark matter manipulation the spirits kept Sauria from bursting into pieces, and that the Krazoa had always served as mediators between the tribes to prevent conflicts from arising, but how all of this was accomplished, or even how the Krazoa truly existed, was as beyond them as it was beyond most of the rest of Lylat.

As for 'telepathic winds' Krystal couldn't offer much insight. She was the most knowledgeable person alive when it came to matters of psionics and telepathy, but that was really only because she was, as far as she knew, the only person who was alive that had any actual experience with it. She'd only been a novice when her planet was lost, and she felt keenly the loss of that knowledge and wisdom. There was a great deal she had never been taught, and even more out there that she knew had yet to be discovered.

About half an hour more of hiking and they reached the spot that Tricky had been told about. Krystal took stock of it. It really was more of a cave than a temple. There were a couple of columns standing at odd angles, and a small stone archway overgrown with moss. Stepping forward she took her staff from the belt of her purple jumpsuit and extended it with a flick of her wrist. She felt the cool trickle of awareness in the back of her skull as the staff linked to her mind, ready to accept her commands at the speed of a thought. Within it she sensed the lingering presence of Fox, his time with the staff having left quite an impression. His control over it had been remarkable for someone who had never wielded a Cerinian weapon before, but it paled in comparison to her own, just as hers paled in comparison to the old masters on her lost world.

Warming the jewel within the top of the staff Krystal set it against the moss and slowly burned it away, revealing the words carved into the stone. As the last of the green overgrowth fell away she ran her claws along the Krazoa symbols, sounding them out under her breath. Krazoa did not always come naturally to her. There were hundreds of dialects, alphabets, and symbols, and she knew only the most common by heart. This one was a bit more obscure, but she managed to recall enough of it to read aloud, "The Winds travel along the Sky and under the Ground, finding those who are lost, and those who are found."

"What does that mean?" Tricky asked, cocking his head.

"I'm not sure." Krystal shrugged. It could mean anything. The Krazoa tended to be vague and inscrutable, though they did give relatively clear instructions when it came to their tests for the pure of heart. "Like I said, the telepathic winds are not something I'm really familiar with."

"What should we do?" Tricky glanced around.

"You wait out here," Krystal said, willing her staff to generate a light. "You won't fit through the arch."

"You're going down there?" Tricky sounded shocked.

Arching an eyebrow Krystal said, "It's what we're here for. An emerald you said?" Tricky nodded. "Back in a bit."

Stepping through the arch Krystal's boots hit a narrow stone stairway. It definitely led underground then. She kept her staff in front of her, lighting the way as she descended into the darkness. It was warm and humid, and the air moved with surprising speed. Her hair drifted occasionally, and the scent was not that of a dank, lifeless cave. She could smell flowers and plants and soft earth, the aromas wafting up from further down.

The hand that didn't hold her staff she kept pressed against the wall to help with her balance, and her tail had arched unconsciously for the same purpose. Against her palm and fingers the wall stone felt cool and damp, and she could feel dirt between the stones, even the soft petals of wallflowers. The stones were stacked on top of one another without mortar of any sort, just precisely cut and, if the psionic resonances she could feel were any indication, reinforced with Krazoan magic. At least she didn't have to worry that the tunnel would collapse.

One thing she did need to worry about was the possibility of traps. The Krazoa had a thing for traps. She wasn't certain what the original reasoning was, but she surmised that they had been conscious of the power of their artifacts, and had defended them accordingly.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs she set foot on even ground and dimmed the light at the end of her staff. A soft orange glow filled the corridor, lit by torches that were either magical themselves, or were maintained by a housekeeping staff that no one had discovered yet. Along the walls were some of the traditional symbols of the Krazoa, including the scarab beetle that the dinosaurs used as a sort of currency. Krystal shivered. She hated bugs. She'd spoken from the heart during the mission to Katina when she'd exclaimed, "They just don't let go. Ugh they're disgusting!"

Resuming her march with careful steps Krystal reached out with her all her senses, but especially the sixth, her telepathy. Krazoan traps often gave off a danger warning that telepaths could pick up, a byproduct of the magical nature of the Krazoa. Poor Fox had had to rely on his own instincts, and a not insignificant amount of luck. The number of scars he'd shown her that had come from Krazoa shrines had far outnumbered any other cause.

Her eyes jerked up as she sensed the trap an instant before she triggered it. A six spoked wheel was embedded in the ceiling, and she'd been an inch away from passing under it. A flamethrower. "Why is it always flamethrowers?"

Ah well, easily solved. Using her staff to project an umbrella shield above her head she nimbly hopped over the stone beneath it. The trap triggered anyway, but the flames glanced harmlessly off the shield. Once she had cleared it the flames terminated, and she collapsed her shield.

At the end of the corridor two doors branched off. One had a stairway leading up, and one remained level, but continued off in a different direction. Krystal paused to consider which route to follow. Krazoa shrines tended to be rather linear, at least the ones she and Fox had explored. Which way?

A breath of wind ruffled her hair and tail from the door with the upward leading stairs. Deciding that was as good a sign as any she prepared to head up, but before that she used her wristcomm to start monitoring her position. No sense getting lost, though she had full confidence that her sense of direction could lead her back out again.

She took the stairs cautiously, always waiting for the next danger sign. Each step was narrow, barely large enough for her foot. Good thing she hadn't worn heels today. Putting her staff back on her waist she leaned down and went up on all fours. She'd have to crawl back down on her behind, but that was better than slipping and breaking her neck.

Straightening up again at the top of the stairs she paused and stretched out with her telepathy. There it was. There was a trap in here. Her first instinct was to look at the floor, but she didn't see anything at first glance. Crouching down she took a closer look and spotted it. The stones making up the floor were about an inch higher than the stone she was on, just in front of the steps. A thought occurred to her and she looked at the walls and swore. In the flickering torchlight she could make out hundreds of tiny holes in the wall, each of them no doubt loaded with poison darts. Or just darts. Either one would kill her in those numbers.

Leaning down even further she tried to determine if it was only certain stones that were raised or...yep, it was all of them. Another colorful oath escaped her muzzle. The whole floor was a pressure trap. This would require a creative solution.

What did she have that could counteract this? Her first instinct was to use another umbrella shield, but if she used it to cover her entire body she wouldn't be able to move. If she used it to cover only part of her body she would be dead or severely injured, so that approach was a nonstarter.

Perhaps her groundquake? If she could use it to exert pressure on every one of the tiles at once she could set the whole trap off and then run through it once it was out of ammunition. Then it occurred to her that she had no idea how much ammunition the thing had, and that if it was magic there was no reason to assume it didn't have an infinite amount. She also didn't fancy shaking the ground all that much when she was presumably still under it. That staircase hadn't been that high, and besides, the Krazoa had been known to bend the laws of physics on occasion. She could be deeper now than she was when she had been at the bottom of the steps.

What could she use? What did she have that could reliably stop the darts, and wouldn't bring the whole place crashing down around her?

When the solution hit her after a moment's consideration she almost laughed. Taking out her staff once more she willed it to project the coldest, thickest ice blast it could. The blast itself reached far enough ahead of her that she could cover a good portion of the wall from where she was. Waving it ahead of her she smiled as the ice crackled and formed a glittering barrier along the walls, unaffected by the magical torches, none of which gave off any real heat.

Once the ice had reached a point that it seemed thick enough Krystal stepped back and then pressed the end of her staff against one of the tiles. It descended into the floor and a moment later she heard the tinkling sound of ice impacts, but no darts came sailing out. With a smile she stepped confidently onto the tiles. No more sounds, which meant the darts were now getting stuck inside their holes. A smile on her face she wagged her tail at her own ingenuity, then set about icing the rest of the hall. With any luck the ice would stay there until she had gotten back through, but she decided that if she came this way again she would give it a nice topping off just to be sure.

Having crossed that room she found herself at the top of another flight of stairs, this time one that spiraled down to an inky depth. Using her staff to light her way she began to descend, moving slowly and carefully. Once again, torches began to flicker on as she walked, and she gained a sense of just how deep down this place went when none of them could light the bottom.

Around her the wind kicked up, and she paused for a moment to try and get a sense of where it was coming from. Licking her thumb she put it to the air, and to her shock she felt nothing. Even as her hair whipped around she felt no impact of the breeze against her wetted thumb. "Telepathic winds." Her hair was moving of its own accord, attuned to the psionic winds emanating from this long forgotten shrine.

When she reached the bottom her boot sank into warm water. She brought the light on her staff back and held it out in front of her. As far as she could see were the waters of an underground lake. Her nose twitched at the scent of the water, clean and fresh. Something caught her eye.

Turning towards it she smiled when she saw the pulsing beacon of green beneath the surface. The water rippled out from it. If that wasn't her target she didn't know what was. Setting her staff against the column that the steps wound around Krystal unzipped her jumpsuit and quickly set it, along with her undergarments, aside. No sense getting them all wet when she didn't have to. Picking her staff back up she began to descend into the water.

When the light from her staff touched the surface of the lake there was a rippling and then a soft, bioluminescent glow began to fill the room. Krystal reached out to find lily pads, each one with a bulb in the middle, and the bulbs glowed a soft, green light.

Sinking into the water Krystal took several slow, deep breaths, filling her blood with oxygen to let her hold her breath a few seconds longer. She was in good shape, and part of Star Fox training involved exercising the lungs to survive without breathing for as long as possible. She could do it for roughly four minutes. Hopefully that would be enough.

Taking in one last, deep breath Krystal sank beneath the surface, keeping her eyes open. The water didn't sting, and the soft light made by the lily bulbs helped her see. She spotted the emerald, sitting on a dais at the bottom, only a few meters away from the stairs.

Kicking her legs behind her Krystal swam further down, eyes locked on the emerald. It pulsed and glowed like a beacon, and she felt her staff begin to tremor with anticipation as she closed the distance.

She felt her own anticipation growing as she neared the emerald. It was almost as if it were calling out to her, trying to tell her something. There was a whispering in her ear, but she dismissed it for the moment as the water swishing by.

When she reached the bottom she hovered for a moment above the emerald, looking at it more closely. It was faceted and conical in shape. It really did glow, and inside of it she could see swirling energies. Reaching out she touched her fingers to it and had to use every ounce of will she had not to open her mouth and scream. She felt fear and panic, anger, desperation. And it felt like Fox!

Her lungs began to burn. She was nearing the point where she'd need to go for air. Putting up all of her mental defences she grabbed the emerald and hugged it to her body. Her legs kicked and she swam for the surface, rising to the top in only a fraction of the time it had taken for her to get to the bottom.

When she broke the surface she gasped, sucking in a lungful of sweet, breathable air. She resisted the urge to hyperventilate, instead willing her body to take in slow, deep breaths that would replenish her oxygen more quickly, while also calming her frayed nerves.

Pulling herself up onto the stairs she grabbed her staff and warmed it with the fire setting, helping her dry from dripping to merely damp in a minute or two. Hastily she dressed, setting the emerald on the steps where she could see it. It had dimmed now that she had removed it from the dais, and the emotions she had read from it had receded as well. They still gnawed at her though. Had they been real? Or had they been an illusion? A stray, subconscious thought that had been magnified a thousand times by the artifact. Because she did fear for Fox when they weren't together. He feared for her. She bore no illusion that she could be with him to protect him every moment of every day, nor did she think that such a state of being would be healthy for either of them. It did not stop her from worrying though. They lived in a dangerous profession, in a star system that, for all its peacefulness and beauty, had a dark underbelly of violence and suffering that their lives had been, for the moment, inextricably linked to. To put it simply, there were many people who wanted them dead, or to do them harm, and she would be a fool not to keep that knowledge in the back of her mind.

As she zipped up her jumpsuit Krystal managed to convince herself that that was all it had been. Krazoa artifacts often magnified telepathic abilities or thoughts. The Krazoa were telepathic beings, and Krystal suspected this artifact was a focusing jewel, intended to help channel such energies more effectively.

Steady and with all the bad thoughts leaving her mind Krystal was about to pick up the gem and head back out to meet Tricky when her wristcomm beeped. Her stomach dropped like a lead weight. That was too close to be a coincidence. Swallowing the bile that had risen in her throat Krystal activated the wristcomm and frowned when she saw Peppy's face. "Krystal..."

"What is it?" Krystal asked, her tail curling around her legs. "Peppy, what's happened to him?"

Peppy's eyes flicked downward. He didn't question her guess, a measure of how much he'd come to trust her sixth sense. She knew he didn't find it surprisingly in the least that she would intuitively know who he was calling about. "I think you better get to Corneria. Better hurry."

* * *

A/N: This is the first time I've written Tricky in anything in a long time. He's such a big kid. I feel like any trip with him inevitably dissolves into him constantly asking, "Where are we going?"

Also, imagination points if anyone spots the Star Trek Wrath of Khan reference I made here.

See you guys in a couple weeks, and thank you so much for the support and reviews you've been giving to this story, I'm thrilled people are enjoying it! And, of course, if you find yourself in need of more Fox and Krystal goodness and all around Star Fox awesomeness, my other ongoing fic, Star Fox: The Storm, awaits yee! Go forth and read its glory!

Until next time...

-general furfvurfurfurughurhurhte


	4. Taking Command

**Chapter 3**

 **Taking Command**

"Lieutenant Krystal Zonoc, you are clear to land on landing pad eleven."

"Copy that, on approach. Out."

Krystal looked down at the military landing zone she had been directed to. Outside the gates she could see crowds of civilians. Whatever attempts the Cornerian government and military had made to try and contain the knowledge of what had happened to Fox had obviously failed. On the flight from Sauria Krystal had poured over news reports, and the rumors were flying thick and fast. And, as usual, many of them were contradictory or just plain preposterous. There were claims that Fox had been killed by pirates, or that he'd been captured by a Venomian commando squad. There were even rumors that he had defected, although that seemed to be a rumor started by a well known, anti-Cornerian conspiracy theorist and had been roundly discredited by almost all corners of Lylatian media.

Whatever it was it obviously had important people worried. Worried enough that Peppy had said he couldn't risk talking about it over subspace. Even with the most modern encryption routines they were taking no chances on the information leaking out. As Krystal brought her ship down on repulsors and settled onto the pad she decided that whoever was in charge had done a lousy job of keeping a lid on things.

Shutting down her engines and locking her critical systems Krystal doffed her commpiece and popped the canopy. When she hit the ground she spotted a pair of Cornerian soldiers approaching, led by a familiar face in an officer's uniform. "Bill!" Krystal called out, jogging over to meet him. The grey furred bulldog looked uncharacteristically dour. Krystal noted the birds on his shoulder. "Colonel Grey?"

Bill nodded. "Promotion came through last week. I was gonna take some leave once things settled down a bit..." He wrapped Krystal in a quick hug. Bill had been Fox's best friend during his Academy days, and the two had remained close ever since. Krystal had hit it off well with him.

"What happened?" Krystal asked. Stepping back from Bill and drilling her gaze into him. She had half a mind to rip it from him with her telepathy, but she had lived long enough on Cerinia before it was lost to have too many culture inhibitions about forced telepathic contact.

Bill rubbed at his neck and sighed. "Peppy better tell you. Me and the boys here are supposed to escort you. We've got a car outside." He motioned to the two military police troopers behind him. Both of them were canine, though one was male and the other female.

"How bad is it?" Krystal asked, matching the quick strides of the military personnel as they headed for the gates.

"Rumors are flying, and people are worried. It's Fox. You know how things get." Bill glanced at her, and Krystal nodded. She did indeed know how things 'got'. Her first day on Corneria she and Fox had been pursued by a flash mob of teenage girls trying to get selfies with him. Then, when they had run down a side street to try and escape they'd been accosted by an army of tabloid reporters who had started snapping pictures and asking all sorts of disgusting personal questions that had had both their cheeks burning and Krystal reaching for her staff.

No matter what Fox did people seemed to insist on painting him as a savior akin to a demigod. And on a certain level the myth held water. Fox was one of the most brilliant pilots in the galaxy, and he was no slouch when it came to ground combat. She was one of the few people who could put him in the dirt when it came to hand to hand combat, but that had quite a bit to do with her reflexes, which were naturally enhanced by her telepathic intuition.

During the Lylat War Fox and his team had managed to turn the tide of the invasion of Corneria, and the Battle of Sector Y, not to mention saving Corneria's foothold on Katina, and in the process saving the life of the bulldog walking next to her. He'd challenged Andross, at that point the greatest scourge ever visited on Lylat, to single combat, and won, ending a war that had claimed nearly a hundred million lives.

In the eight years between then and Sauria he had drifted around the edges of Lylat, saving lives, helping with relief efforts, and rescuing shipping convoys from pirate attacks. The media had gone from painting him as a war hero to making a portrait of a guardian angel who would defend Lylat against anything and everything that ever threatened it. Some had been skeptical, but then Sauria had happened.

Krystal, being new to Lylat, hadn't appreciated until she got to Corneria how big an event the Saurian Crisis had been. It hadn't been a war. There had been no invasion by General Scales and his legion of SharpClaw warriors that had threatened to topple the galactic order. Instead it had been a tense, nail biting period of weeks as people watched footage of the most mysterious world in their system coming apart and floating in chunks, threatening to explode. If it had, it would have altered the orbits of every planet in the system, rendering many planets, including Corneria, uninhabitable. Panic had gripped the populace as evacuation plans were laid, and endless media speculation about the causes and who might really be behind all of this only served to fuel further panic.

Through all of that though a common thread had run that had prevented civilization from coming apart at the seams. This one thread, this one place that Lylat had been able to put its hope, had meant that the people of the system managed to restrain themselves from riot and violence. Not a single shop had been looted. Instead, they had faced the possibility of their doom with noble deeds, caring hearts, and remarkable calm. That thread, that hope, had been that Fox McCloud was on the case.

When Fox succeeded, and not only saved Sauria and the rest of Lylat, but also revealed the role that Andross had played in precipitating the crisis, right before sending the mad ape's soul screaming back to hell, Fox had stopped being a war hero or a simple guardian angel. He was a legend. And his legend had only grown with his defeat of the Aparoids. So, any rumor that something had happened to him, any possibility of Lylat losing its savior, had the potential to become truly explosive.

Stepping through the gates Krystal raised a hand to her face as camera flashes immediately bombarded her. She quickly closed her mind and plastered her ears back against her skull as a thousand questions were screamed at her. Some of them came from reporters, but many of them came from ordinary people. Those people inspired a special sympathy in her. A reporter had to ask questions, had to get the story, but ordinary people? When they asked her where Fox was, what had happened, what she was going to do, she knew it was because more than anything they were frightened. They didn't want to lose the person that made them feel safe and secure. That was something Krystal could relate to.

Her heart nearly melted when she saw the children, many of them too young to understand really what was going on, holding up little posters of Fox McCloud and staring at her with wide eyes, pointing and whispering her name to their friends. Many of them seemed relieved and full of confidence when they spotted her, Star Fox's newest member, and Fox McCloud's paramour, though they would probably have said 'crush.'

"Bill," she whispered. "What the kazo is going on?"

They reached the car and Bill opened the door for her. Both of the MPs quickly joined the ranks of their fellow soldiers holding back the crowd as Krystal ducked inside. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them Bill nodded to the driver and they were off. Krystal noted a quartet of escorts fall in around them, flashing sirens from their jetbikes as they pulled onto the road leading directly to Cornerian Defense Headquarters.

Once they were safely onto the cleared streets, Bill said, "Like I told you, Peppy better be the one to tell you. He's in charge right now. Special orders from the president. She didn't like what happened when her Homeworld Security advisor accidentally let slip Fox's name when he got the news during a press conference."

Lovely. A political gaffe had been responsible for all of this. "I assume it isn't good."

Bill shook his head. "No. It's not."

"Where are Falco and Slippy?" Krystal asked.

"At HQ. They were both on Corneria. Peppy brought them in immediately." Bill glanced out the window. "We should be there in a minute."

They passed through security, and outside the windows of the car Krystal could see more military police holding back even more crowds of civilians. The crowds were orderly, not pressing against the lines. Most of them just seemed to be there, waiting for news. No doubt once night fell there would be candlelight vigils being held in all corners of Lylat.

Logically Krystal could only think of one or two things that would have caused this sort of reaction, but she didn't want to assume, not yet. When they reached the central tower they were quickly ushered inside, and Krystal noted the hushed but still frantic emotional state of the entire building. Officers and enlisted personnel seemed to be moving in every direction at once, and every conversation was being held in harsh whispers not meant to carry more than a few feet. Armed guards were stationed and patrolling, and Krystal suspected they were there as much to keep information in as to keep enemies out.

Taking a lift reserved for the Command Council they quickly shot up to the highest level. The doors opened and Krystal stepped into chaos, pure and simple. It was organized chaos, the sort militaries throughout the galaxy were known for. The whole room stopped for a moment when someone spotted her. She felt a bit of color come to her ears at all the attention, but she quickly forced any emotional embarrassment away. She didn't have time for it.

When she spotted Peppy she made a direct line to him, and anyone in her way quickly moved out of it. Bill followed along behind her, keeping a slight distance. When she reached Peppy she said, "What the hell is going on?"

Peppy looked haggard and worried, but in control of himself and his faculties. He'd had the entire military foisted on him at a word from the president, but Krystal could tell that despite the daunting nature of the situation he was more than rising to the occasion. She sensed no resentment or distrust from the officers around him, a good sign. "Follow me." Peppy motioned for Bill to go, and Bill saluted and walked off to join a number of Air Force officers.

The hare led her into a private office, and Krystal noted with a pang of sadness that it had used to belong to General Pepper. Inside she found Falco and Slippy. Both of them looked a bit shocked, Slippy sitting in a chair and shaking his head, and Falco leaning against the wall and looking as nonchalant as possible. It was his most obvious tell. The more Falco looked like something didn't bother him, the more worried or angry he was.

Sitting down behind the desk Peppy tapped a series of controls and then entered a twenty character long password into the computer. He turned the screen so she could see it, and her heart nearly stopped. Fox sat restrained in a chair, two armed Venomian soldiers behind him. He was muzzled, but his eyes were narrowed in defiance. She knew he was afraid, she could read all the subtle cues that no restraints could prevent. But she also saw in him hope and strength. He wouldn't be breaking. Ever.

A voice came over the speakers, and Andrew Oikonny walked into the camera's view. Krystal's eyes narrowed to slits and her lips curled in a snarl. She growled, low and deep in her throat, salivating as the most basic part of her mind told her to rip the head off the man who had assaulted her beloved.

"He's not as tough as he looks, is he Corneria?" Andrew Oikonny's piping high little voice filled the room. "We have Star Fox in custody, and he is charged with espionage against the great Venomian Empire. He has been found guilty, and he will be executed, unless Corneria agrees to release all Venomian prisoners in its possession. You have one week."

The recording clicked off and Krystal slammed her fist on Peppy's desk. "Fuck that fucking little prick!"

No one said a word, and Krystal continued.

"He's a good for nothing two faced motherfucking Andross wannabe! An Andross fucking wannabe, and he has the fucking BALLS to threaten my mate!" Krystal kicked the chair behind her, sending it tipping over onto the floor. "Where is he?"

No put off by her reaction in the slightest, Peppy said, "We don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Krystal stared at Peppy, her tail wrapping around her legs. Not in fear. Instead it was coiled up with pure rage. "Did you not trace this signal?"

"We did." Peppy nodded, and he glanced over at Slippy. "Slip?"

"It was bounced literally thousands of times. It could have been sent from anywhere in Lylat, or even outside of it," Slippy explained. "Given time we could trace it, theoretically."

"How much bloody time do you need then?" Krystal asked, then felt immediately guilty when Slippy flinched. She reached out and then withdrew her hand, feeling awkward. "I'm sorry Slippy. I didn't mean..."

Shaking his head Slippy said, "It's okay, Krystal. I know you didn't mean it." He sat up a bit straighter, looking more confident and even at ease, now that Krystal had softened a bit. "The problem is that tracing it will take weeks. And weeks long tracing means it'll be pointless."

"Yeah, pointless." Falco pushed off the wall and started to pace. "Foxie'll be dead in a week. All that trace would do was lead us to a feather damned murder scene."

"We can't just give up." Krystal ran a hand through her hair and said, "Look, we have a week. If Fox taught me anything it's that Star Fox can accomplish anything. I'm not abandoning him."

Falco glanced at her and then threw his arms up in the air. "And I suppose you think you'll be in charge."

"I didn't say that." Krystal's lips curled in a smile that was anything but warm. The avian shrank a bit. "But seeing as he is my mate, and that Fox gave explicit instructions to put anyone but you in charge of the team in his absence, I think I'm the most logical choice. What do you think Falco? Hmmm?"

For a moment Falco locked eyes with Krystal, but the intensity of her gaze, the determination that swirled in her irises, and the dark desire for revenge that lurked behind her ink black pupils won out in a landslide. Throwing his hands in the air again Falco made some noncommittal noise and flopped down on the office couch.

"Where will you start?" Peppy asked, looking up at her, a small smile on his face. Krystal sensed the pride he took in seeing her take command of the team, even if it was tinged by the fear that it might be permanent. Krystal, doing something she rarely did, used her telepathy to send a wave of upbeat emotions to her friends. Slippy stopped looking shell shocked, and Falco sat up straighter, his beaten look turning into courage. She felt the righteous fury in him that Oikonny had dared to go after his best friend, and Krystal knew that if he continued to tap into that, he'd be the most dangerous pilot in the squadron.

"We have lots of contacts around Lylat," Krystal said. "We'll go through them first, see if they have any intel on where he's being held." Krystal frowned. "It won't come cheap."

"Don't worry about it," Peppy said. "The Defense Force will cover any expenses. You have a blank check."

"Good." Krystal nodded and looked at her two teammates. "Star Fox, move out."

* * *

A/N: Krystal in command! Oikonny better watch out!


	5. Dead Ends

**Chapter 4**

 **Dead Ends**

It had been three days since Fox's kidnapping, and thus far all of Krystal's efforts to find information on him had come to nothing. Their usual list of contacts had been exhausted, all of them expressing their sympathies and concern, and pledging to let her know the moment they heard anything. She'd thanked them, given them a payment as a token of appreciation, and a bribe to keep them loyal, and then kicked the nearest chair in frustration.

Laying in bed, the covers twisted around her, and cold sweat making her tank top and shorts feel disgustingly clingy, Krystal tossed and turned through another of her waking nightmares. Cerinians dreamed in a semi-lucid state. Their dreams were real and detailed, and often Krystal had control of her actions in them, even if she rarely found that she could control the outcome.

The dream was always the same. Seeing Fox on that monitor, bound and muzzled, the guns pressed against his head. Only this time when Oikonny spoke he didn't have a list of demands, and he didn't issue an ultimatum. He only said one word: "Fire."

"AH!" Krystal screamed and sat bolt upright in bed. Nothing but a dream. She grabbed her pillow and threw it against the wall in frustration. Standing up she peeled her clothes off and tossed them towards her duffel bag, then pulled out fresh ones and slipped them on. She was going through undergarments far too fast these days.

Walking over to the window of the hotel they had booked for the night here on Katina, she pushed aside the blinds and looked out at the buildings. Yellow lights illuminated some of the tear drop shaped windows, a style of portal unique to Katina. Krystal didn't really understand why the Katinan's made their windows this way, but she did find it somewhat more interesting to look at than the square windows of the rest of the galaxy.

With a sigh she stepped away from the glass and flopped down on her bed. The sheets were damp and they smelled like sour stress sweat. It boggled her mind that Oikonny had been able to pull this off. He had kidnapped the one person in the galaxy who was supposed to be impervious to attack. The hero with no fear. Not that having fear had much to do with it. A bitter wave of bile came up from her throat as she thought of where Fox must be now, chained in some dark cell, waiting for death. Alone. Was he thinking about her? Was he wishing that she was there with him? Or that he was here with her? She knew what she wished. She wanted him right here in this bed. She didn't want to do anything lewd with him. She just wanted him near her, so she could wrap her arms around him and feel his wrap around her in return. She wanted to bury her nose in the crook of his neck, so that each breath she took would smell like his musky vulpine fur. And she wanted to feel him give her hair a kiss, and her ear a nibble. Then she wanted to fall asleep, so that in the morning she could wake up and see his soft orange fur, and smell his deep, reassuring scent. All she wanted was for him to be safe with her again.

Holding onto those thoughts she did her best to imagine that they were real, and that he really was there. Perhaps she could have a good dream for a change. Her eyelids closed and she yawned, tears from the motion coming down her cheeks. She was about to fall asleep when her communicator trilled.

Opening her eyes she got out of bed and dashed over to her bag where she kept the comm. Hoping desperately that it would be one of Star Fox's contacts signaling that they had some information, or that it would be Peppy calling to let her know that Cornerian Intelligence had located Fox and was ready to send a rescue team, and that all they needed was for Star Fox to be ready to go in with them.

What greeted her on the screen was none of those things. Instead it was a message from an unlisted comm number, the ID redacted, and the signal, according to her communicator, having been bounced through several relays. That ruled out Peppy and Cornerian Intelligence, as well as any of Star Fox's usual contacts. Even the most paranoid ones would have given her some inkling of who it was.

Under normal circumstances Krystal didn't open messages like this. None of them did. It was a risk. More often than not it was a rival mercenary team, or even the Venomians, trying to get access to the Star Fox intranet, through which they could monitor the team, gather intelligence, and if they were particularly brazen, even steal funds from the various accounts that were linked to it. For all of those reasons Krystal should have immediately deleted the message, sight unseen, and gone back to bed to toss and turn and scream into her pillow. If things were normal she would have done exactly that. Things, however, were not normal. Not by any stretch of even the most diseased imagination.

That being said she wasn't stupid. Swiping past the message she called Slippy. The comm beeped several times until a groggy voice said, "This is Slippy."

"Slippy, it's Krystal. I need you to monitor our intranet for intrusion," Krystal told him.

"Um, sure. Why?" She heard a rustling noise as the toad got out of bed, no doubt heading for his laptop.

"I'm about to do something potentially unwise," Krystal explained. "But, if we're lucky, this might be our break."

Silence on the other end, and then Slippy said, "Alright, I'm watching. Go ahead."

Taking a breath and forcing down the anxiety that seethed like a coiled viper in the pit of her stomach she went to her messages and opened up the transmission. It was plain text. **I have information on the Captive** , followed by an address, what she assumed was a room number, and a time. Nothing else. "Slippy?"

"Nothing. We're good. What is it?"

"Someone is offering us information. And an address and what I assume is a time we're supposed to meet them." Krystal frowned and typed the address into her GPS app. A moment later it gave her the location of a small tavern near the Katina City Spaceport.

"Are we gonna be there?"

Krystal took a beat to think about it. This smelled like a trap. And when something smelled like a trap it almost certainly was. But...but they were running out of time. They'd played it safe thus far, and all it had done was use up three days in a fruitless game of meetups with informants who had nothing to give them but a bill for showing up. They had four days left until that dream she'd had every night became reality. The time for playing it safe was over. "Yes."

()()()()

Everywhere you went on Katina was dusty. It didn't matter if you were in the hinterlands, the northern wastes, or the equatorial zones, the dust was simply everywhere. It varied in intensity and texture, the northern dust tended to be dense and frozen, the hinterlands dry and scratchy, and the equatorial dark and moist, but variations on a theme were still a theme.

Above them the twin suns of Lylat and Solar beat down on the outskirts of Katina City, the capital of the frontier world. Katina had been one of the first worlds to be colonized by Corneria, owing to its close proximity. In fact, once a year the orbits of the two planets were so close that they could be seen in daylight with the naked eye. The harshness of the environment, much of it unsuited to agriculture, meant that it had always been sparsely populated.

In recent decades it had seen a bit of a boom, with its population doubling (twice nothing was still nothing, in Krystal's opinion), after the discovery of massive veins of titanium and chromium in the hinterlands. Mining corps had quickly moved in, and people had followed the scent of jobs to numerous mining towns spread across the world.

Of course titanium and chromium were vital strategic metals, and so Corneria had promptly set up a series of outposts across the surface, as well as defense satellites in orbit. Katina was also now host to two of the largest military shipyards in the system, and a third was being constructed.

None of that mattered in the slightest to Krystal however. She'd gladly let it all rot if it meant having Fox back.

"We know anything about the person we're meeting?" Falco asked. He'd asked that several times since she'd informed the team about her plan last night. Both Falco and Slippy had been onboard one hundred percent. They were both as frustrated as her with their lack of progress, and more than willing to take the risk for a breakthrough. The worst that could happen was that they remained solidly in square one, where they had been since setting out.

"No. But I suspect they'll let us know when they see us." Krystal frowned and let her hand brush against the golden alloy staff that hung at her side. Falco and Slippy were both armed with standard sidearms, but Krystal had elected to keep with her staff. Part of her felt like it brought her luck, and another part of it was that it still held a residual impression of Fox within it. That sense of her beloved was almost enough to convince her that she was fighting alongside him when she wielded it. At the same time the fact that she knew it to be a poor substitute helped drive her forward, desperate to feel the real thing, and tantalized by the reminder that the staff represented.

"Great." Falco eyed a group of passing spacers suspiciously. "I don't like this place."

"I thought you and Katt used to hideout in places like this all the time," Slippy said, cocking his head.

"Nah." Falco shook his head. "We were always out around Titania, or Fichina, or even Fortuna. The real fringes. Katina though? This place is a weird in between."

Krystal nodded, understanding what he meant. Katina was not Corneria, where crime was largely non-existent, and scarcity a thing of the past. It was also not the fringes of Lylat, where the opposite was true. Instead it was a middle ground, where people were willing to go to desperate lengths to get ahead, but were also kept bottled up with their frustrations by the presence of the Cornerian military, and the Katinan Colonial Guard, a few members of which Krystal had spotted standing about, arms resting on their assault rifles and gaze scrutinizing anyone who passed.

"Hopefully we won't be here for long," Krystal said. She spotted the address. Talky's Bar. It was a nondescript hole in the wall. Just the sort of place where people went to have illicit meetings.

"How do you wanna play this boss?" Falco asked.

Krystal paused and glanced around. She spotted an open air cafe about twenty meters away, with a good view of the front door. "Slippy, go get yourself something to eat over there, and keep an eye on the door." Slippy nodded and immediately peeled off. "Falco?" Krystal looked at the dim alleyway between the bar and the nearest building. "Go keep an eye on any side entrances. And try not to look like a streetwalker."

Falco cawed in amusement and nodded. "Don't worry. I ain't wearin' my fishnets."

Krystal let a brief smile of amusement curl her lip, and then she headed for the bar.

The inside was dimly lit, cool from the air conditioning, and smelled like smoke and spacer odor. Sitting down at the bar she made herself conspicuous. It was hardly difficult, the place was full of spacers, male and female, and she closed her mind to the thoughts they were projecting towards her.

A moment later the bartender, a portly bear, walked up and said, "What'll it be?"

"You have any rocket fuel?" she asked. He looked surprised and incredulous. "Because I'll have that."

Rocket fuel was both a colloquial term in Lylat for extremely strong liquor, and an actual brand of throat burning intoxicant. Krystal had no fear that drinking it would leave her senses dulled. She'd learned how to hold her booze, and her own mental discipline allowed her to keep a pretty good handle on herself. _Of course there was that time when I really got hammered on eggnog and my other accent came out..._

A shot glass was placed in front of her, and Krystal picked it up. Her sinuses cleared at the scent, and she smiled as she tipped it back. It seared her throat such that most would have gagged and hacked at the sensation. Krystal merely enjoyed it, and the look of respect the bartender gave her. When she set the glass back down on the table the bartender said, "He's upstairs."

Krystal nodded, reaching out with her telepathy and gently brushing the surface of the ursine's mind. She sensed no deception there. If this was a trap he wasn't in on it. Standing up from the bar she set down a few credit bills and then made her way to the stairs, dodging a pair of grasping hands with a look of revulsion on her face. Oh if Foxy had been there. He'd have broken both of those wrists.

Bringing her comm to her lips Krystal said, "Heading upstairs."

"Roger,"Slippy said. "Front door is clear."

"Same with the back,"Falco reported in.

Upstairs the bar turned into a low rent hostel. There were doors along each wall, and Krystal sensed no shortage of illegal and orgiastic activities taking place behind them. Once again she closed her mind and fought down nausea as she passed a room whose door was shaking. And not because of the music being played on the other side.

At the end of the hall one entrance had been left ajar. She glanced at the number and confirmed that it was the one she was looking for, then pushed the door open.

What greeted her was a grim tapestry of everything she hadn't wanted to see, but had suspected would probably be inevitable. The furniture in the room had been trashed, the noise likely covered by the activities next door, the music, and the fact that the downstairs bar had been loud with boisterous spacer chatter.

Lying face down in a puddle of blood was a man in his mid sixties, with a puncture wound straight through his abdomen. A dead blade for certain. Quiet and efficient. He wore a Venomian military uniform, and the lack of rank insignia indicated he'd been part of intelligence rather than regular military. Not a surprise. Venomian intelligence operatives and officers had been defecting and leaking information for months, with many of them fleeing a vindictive Oikonny. It seemed Venomian intelligence had attempted a coup shortly after the battle of Fortuna, and Oikonny was gleefully cleaning house. This man had probably been someone already marked for death, and who had wanted to use information about Fox in exchange for asylum.

"Shit." Krystal shook her head and turned to exit the room. She hadn't made it more than a step before a powerful blast blew the opposite wall open, and sent her sailing into the hallway. Her muzzle smacked against the wall and she tasted blood from a split lip. She moaned and picked herself up, grabbing the staff from her belt and throwing up the umbrella shield not a moment too soon. Blaster fire pinged off of it, her assailants unloading everything they had on her. Krystal kept the shield up, feeding it whatever power it needed until, finally, the assault ended. She closed it and looked to see a trio of Venomian commandos staring at her from behind faceless red helmets. Snarling Krystal made a come hither gesture, while also keeping her sixth sense alert for the approach of the missing member of the enemy team. Venomian commandos always operated in squads for four.

Blasters clattered to the floor and the commandos each pulled out their stun batons, flicking them to their full length and powering them on. The tips of weapons sparked with blue electric energy, and Krystal's nose picked up the faint scent of ozone. Krystal could only imagine the thoughts of glory, fame, and promotion that had to be going through their heads at the prospect of bringing Oikonny another member of Star Fox as a hostage.

Outside the bar at the street level her sensitive vulpine ears could hear the beginnings of a firefight, and her wristcomm crackled to life with both Falco and Slippy warning her that they were under fire, and that it looked like Venomian Special Forces. She didn't bother to respond verbally, but she did send them a pulse through her telepathy that would let them know she was alive.

Krystal began to back away from the door and down the hall.

"Surrender, and we won't harm you," the lead commando said, his voice tinny and modulated to remove emotion.

"Not a chance." Right at this moment she could have opened fire with her staff and killed them all, but she didn't. It was too risky. She could just as easily end up sending fire bolts through into the adjacent rooms, killing the civilians that were now cowering inside of them. She could also set the whole place on fire. At some point she needed to find a way to create a stun setting for her staff.

Behind her she heard the creak of stairs, and she spun at just the right moment, catching the fourth member of the squad square across the jaw with the blunt end of her staff. Bones cracked and he went down with a gurgling scream, teeth falling to the floor in front of him, and blood spouting from his nose.

The rest of the squad charged in and Krystal let loose with a traditional Cerinian battlecry. It was half verbal and half telepathy, and the shock of hearing it reverberate through their minds gave her the opening she needed. Closing the distance between them she found the soft spot in the lead commando's armor, and plunged the sharpened end of her staff into the suit. It punctured it with ease, and she felt muscle and veins give way.

Withdrawing her staff she swept his legs out from under him, then brought her foot down in a vicious stomp to his throat. His neck snapped and she was already onto her next target. Commando number three got a stab to the chest, followed by a pulse of energy that she sent down the length of her staff that cooked his insides. And the fourth she favored with a vicious slash that cut through the assailants throat, and sent a spray of blood across the wall.

Hostile squad neutralized Krystal beat it quickly down the stairs. The spacers were all fighting to get through the door, and Krystal tossed a preloaded, high denomination credit chip to the bartender with an apologetic look for the trouble she had caused him. When she got to the door she screamed, "MOVE!" The spacers nearly fell over each other to clear a path for her, and she wasn't gentle about shoving through them.

Outside she saw that the situation was deteriorating. Falco was pinned down behind a dumpster, which was beginning to glow orange with the heat of the laser beams it was being forced to absorb. He'd have to move in a matter of seconds unless he wanted to get burned, and when he broke cover they would mow him down, just as they had the Katinan Colonial Guard in the area, Krystal noted with grim emotion, spotting the bodies on the ground. She needed to create a diversion, and now that she was outside she knew how to give him one.

Civilians still crowded the area, though they were clearing out as fast as they could. Not wanting to endanger them with a fusillade of fire blaster shots, Krystal instead raised her staff in the air, and then slammed it onto the ground. The whole block shook with a seismic quake, and people fell to the ground, unbalanced and unprepared for the sudden shaking. That included the Venomian commandos that were firing at Falco.

Falco took the opportunity and sprinted for the cover a nearby doorway. Krystal charged ahead and yelled, "DOWN!" All around her people fell to the ground and stayed there. With her sightlines clear Krystal opened fire on the commandos as they regained their balance, sending them sprawling, with smoking holes in their chests.

Linking up with Falco she said, "Is that all of them?"

"Just about." Falco nodded, then fired a burst over her shoulder. She heard another body hit the ground. "Now it's all of them."

"Where's Slippy?" Krystal asked.

"Right here."

Krystal jumped in the air, and swore. "Dammit." She looked down at him then and smiled. "I'm glad you're both all right."

"Yeah. Knew it'd be a trap," Falco said.

Sirens blared in their ears before Krystal could say anything further. With a sigh she holstered her weapon, and Falco and Slippy did the same. As the Katinan Colonial Guard arrived she knew they were going to have a lot of explaining to do.

()()()()

Krystal paced in the tiny cell in which she'd been thrown. Six hours of questioning about the firefight, and another three waiting for the local magistrate to decide whether or not to release them. Krystal was going crazy. Outside she could see the suns setting through the tiny window that also let in the fresh, but dusty air.

How long did it take to get confirmation that they were who they said they were? How many people wielded magical staffs for thunder sake?

With a defeated sigh she threw herself down onto the cot and stared at the red energy bars that flickered in front of her cell. It was a shame Katina was scientifically advanced enough that they used forcefields. If the bars had been metal, and the lock physical, then maybe she could have used a hairpin to pick the lock and escape. "Not that I use hair pins," she mumbled, feeling angry, petulant, and very sorry for herself.

At the moment she knew they were questioning Falco. Again. Despite her warnings he'd gotten smart mouthed, and now his story had several inconsistencies the magistrate had apparently insisted needed to be cleared up.

Two hours ago she'd told them to contact Cornerian Defense headquarters and ask for Peppy Hare. One word from him and they would be out. Judging by the fact that she was still stuck in here she got the feeling they hadn't bothered to call. Or the military channels were backed up and no one thought the Katinan Colonial Guard had anything interesting to say. One way or another it wasn't helping her.

In the distance she heard a door open and shut. Footsteps followed and a few moments later she saw a guard walk past, escorting a petty but subdued Falco.

Standing up Krystal said, "Please tell me you told them the truth."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Falco grunted and threw the guard a dirty look as he got shoved back into his cell. "Great job Blue. You're gettin' us thrown in jail a lot more than Foxie boy ever did. Brings back memories."

"Shut up." Krystal sat back down on her cot and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. Things were so much easier when Fox was around. Everyone recognized him. It didn't matter what planet they were on, people always recognized him.

For her part she'd always thought a blue vixen would be a pretty obvious giveaway as to who she was. Things had gotten muddy of late though. As embarrassing as it was, Krystal had found herself responsible for a fur dying trend, and blue vixens had started popping up all over Lylat. She'd only ever released one official photo to the media, and that had been one taken of her shortly after the resolution of the Saurian Crisis. As for unofficial photos, those had all been taken by Cornerian tabloids, and hadn't made it much beyond that planet.

In some ways it worked in their favor. Although Fox was usually pretty recognizable, requiring elaborate disguises if he tried to do undercover work, she and the rest of the team required relatively few cosmetic changes. The trend of blue fur dying had made it so that she could, if she tried, even disappear into a crowd with few issues.

Of course that was rather inconvenient for them now. It had also pissed Falco off to an unreasonable degree. He'd started embellishing things to make himself sound even more awesome the minute the investigators had told him they didn't believe him when he told them who he was. Typical Falco.

Closing her eyes Krystal folded her legs beneath her and took a deep, cleansing breath. As long as she was going to be stuck here she might as well pass the time meditating.

Meditation was a vital practice for Cerinians. The very nature of their telepathy meant that, no matter how much control was exercised, the errant thoughts of the multitudes that they were surrounded by inevitably leaked in. Meditation allowed her to clear her mind and sort out what belonged to her, and what someone else had unwittingly dropped inside of her. It was also a time when she could relax those mental guards, and allow her mind to expand to its limit, without focus.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Her breathing was regular, and the only thing her mind focused on. Inside her chest her heart rate slowed, and in her mind she could feel her guard relaxing. The sorting process occurred in the background, and Krystal's conscious mind expanded throughout the building. She could sense the magistrate having a heated conversation with one of the investigators. She could sense the guards outside on their normal patrol routes, alternately bored and diligent. She could sense two people who had snuck off to a secluded area of the compound for unauthorized interpersonal relations.

And she could sense something else. Alien. But also familiar. It hovered on the edge of her senses, purple-pink and glowing. Meditation would wait. Instead she brought her mental faculties back up to their higher functions and reached out to this entity. Immediately she felt the most orderly and strange thoughts patterns in Lylat slide across her consciousness. Whispers penetrated her defenses and spoke in a timeless and ancient language that no mortal spoke, but that all mortals understood.

Her eyes shot open and she heard the sound of the door at the end of the corridor opening and shutting. A moment later the magistrate, a skinny saluki breed canine, appeared. "Commander Krystal, we apologize for the inconvenience." He pressed a control and the bars to her cell disappeared. "We've just gotten word from Special Presidential Advisor Hare, and you're free to go."

Krystal didn't even bother to respond. She shoved passed him and motioned for her team to follow. She knew where to go, and what to do. She retrieved her gear in something almost like a haze, except it was made up of a crystal clarity.

Falco, bless him, handled all of the talking, with a bit of help from Slippy. Once they were outside the Guard station Krystal turned to them and said, "We're heading to Sauria. I know how to find him."

Both the avian and the amphibian glanced at each other, then Falco said, "Lead the way."

* * *

A/N: Hello all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it was a blast to write. I particularly enjoyed the Krystal throat stomp.

There's not too much to say here other than thank you all for reading, reviewing, and faving and following! It's been wonderful to see you all enjoying this fic. And, if you need more Star Fox in your life, you should definitely check out my other ongoing fic, Star Fox: The Storm. The plot is thickening!

See you all in a couple of weeks! Be excellent to each other, and if you have Nintendo Switch, go out and buy Starlink for Foxy boy!

-da furfur


	6. Hope Carried on the Winds

**Chapter 5**

 **Hope Carried on the Winds**

Filling the space in front of the canopy of Krystal's Arwing, Sauria spun gently on its axis. It was a beautiful blue and green ball, held together by the energy taps of the Spell Stones and the metaphysical powers of the Krazoa Spirits that lived there. The first time she had seen it it had been in pieces, with four massive sections of it orbiting it like small moons. Fox had put it back together, and saved her life in the process. Then, only months ago, she and Fox had set foot on the surface once again, repelling the early stages of an Aparoid invasion.

Memories of that brutal and dangerous combat, performed on one of the ancient CloudRunner cities that rested on the plateaus and mountains of the planet, bubbled to the surface of her mind as she and the rest of the team began their approach to the atmosphere.

It had been the first time she and Fox fought side by side on the ground. At least, the first time outside of training. Though she had feared for the dinosaurs on the planet, she hadn't been able to restrain herself from making a teasing little remark about finally being able to work together with Fox. The way it had made Fox blush and stammer had been well worth it. The fact that Falco had interrupted what might have turned into a prolonged flirtation as they geared up for the battle still rankled her a bit when she thought about it.

Down on the planet things had not been nearly as bad as she had feared. Although the Aparoids had taken full control of the old CloudRunner ruins, and even set up hatchers, the magic of the Krazoa had kept them contained there. How long that would last had been anyone's guess, and the need to clear them out had been obvious. With Falco and Slippy providing air cover, she and Fox had descended into the jungle, and fought through corridors, caves, and tree lines to locate and destroy every hatcher on the surface.

When the grueling combat had come to an end the two of them had set out to look for Tricky, to make sure he was alright. In the end Tricky had found them, and nearly flattened Fox when he gave the male vulpine a pouncing hug. Fox told her that the laugh that had escaped her that evening, as he'd struggled to extricate himself from Tricky's grasp, had been the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. Why remained a mystery to both of them, and one neither of them had ever much bothered to think about. It was enough to know that the laugh had been beautiful, and that the memory of it brought warmth to their hearts.

And, of course, that had been the evening when Tricky had made the assumption that she and Fox were together. Even engaged to be married. The mention of a honeymoon had nearly given Fox a stroke. As hilarious and lighthearted as that moment had been, she knew that, for both of them, it had been the catalyst for what came after. Tricky's childlike innocence had led him to assume that they were closer than they were, that they were as close as, they realized, they should be. They both owed Tricky a debt of gratitude for that. _And we will be taking our honeymoon on Sauria, resort offers be damned._

"So, this palace, what's it like?" Falco asked, his voice crackling over the comm.

"Krazoa Palace?"

"Yeah. I've never actually been there." Falco's face appeared on the comm screen.

"It's beautiful. A bit imposing. And easy to get lost in," Krystal warned. "So, please, stick close to me or the Krazoa guide."

"What are the Krazoa like?" Slippy asked, his face popping up alongside Falco's.

"That's harder to explain," Krystal admitted. "They're pure energy. Mostly thought energy, but they're also somewhat physical. They can interact with you or the world around them. They can also pass through it, or inhabit a living vessel."

Both Falco and Slippy gave her worried looks, and the trepidation she sensed from them was actually a bit amusing. Laughing just a touch she smiled and said, "Don't worry, they aren't body snatchers. They don't enter a host without their consent."

"Uh huh." Falco shook his head. "Sauria is weird."

"It's different." Krystal frowned and her grip on the Arwing's controls tightened for a moment. "It's a lot like my home was."

"Really?" Slippy's eyes widened. "I never knew that. You don't talk about it much."

"It's painful." Krystal did her best to smile. "One day I might write a book."

"A book?" Falco's eye ridges raised.

Unable to resist, Krystal said, "Yes. It's those things made of paper that you see smart people flipping through on the train."

"I know what a book is!" Falco cawed in indignation.

"Have you ever read one?" Slippy asked, always eager for the opportunity to get back at the avian, who razzed him constantly.

"Nah. Books are for losers," Falco replied, his expression smug and self-satisfied.

"Right." Krystal rolled her eyes. "Close up for final approach, we're going to have a narrow landing site."

Both Falco and Slippy acknowledged, and Krystal kept her eye on the toad to make sure he didn't overcompensate. He wasn't the best pilot, and Fox had told her privately that you always wanted to keep an eye on him during close formation maneuvers. Despite any misgivings Fox might have expressed Slippy performed flawlessly, and the three Arwings came to rest at the top of the Krazoa Palace, on what Krystal guessed was a large aerie meant for the CloudRunners.

It was a clear day outside, with the suns visible and the sky a brilliant blue. Krystal hopped down from her Arwing and jogged to the edge of the landing site. She peeked over the railing and saw to her delight EarthWalkers, CloudRunners, LightFoot, and even a few SharpClaw milling about, making offerings, and conversing. Two Krazoa Spirits mingled with them, no doubt dispensing advice or interpreting dreams. It was a wonderful window into the everyday lives of the Spirits, no longer bound to the manipulative and evil will of Andross, and free to interact with the dinosaurs, whom they considered their charges, as they saw fit.

"Hey, Blue!" Falco called out.

Krystal turned and saw a trio of Spirits ascend to their level. She nodded and stepped to the front of her team. From the backpack that was slung over her shoulder she pulled the emerald and held it out. One of the Krazoa peeled off from the others and approached it. He regarded it with his small, diamond shaped eyes, and seemed to rock back and forth in thought. Krystal sensed communication occurring between the three spirits, though it was at a speed and level of mental complexity that it made it impossible for her to make heads or tails of it. She was content to wait until the spirits decided they had something she needed to know.

Pulling back from the emerald the lead spirit spoke in a thin, whispering voice. The words he spoke were neither Lylatian nor Cerinian, but Krystal understood them completely. "Your friend is in great peril."

"My mate," Krystal corrected. Although she was a far simpler being than the Krazoa, that difference in complexity sometimes meant that the Krazoa could have trouble with the subtleties of mortal lives. They often did well though, and were eager to have misconceptions explained.

"Far worse then," the spirit said, his light dimmed and the tendrils of hair that swayed behind him closed in on themselves. "The Wind Jewel can guide you to him, but it must be place back in the Wind Chamber."

Krystal nodded. "And where is that?"

"At the bottom of the palace, in a place where few still tread," the spirit said. "It is dangerous."

"Danger is something I am accustomed to," Krystal informed them. All three of the spirits bobbed in an affirmative fashion. Her courage and abilities were not in doubt among them. "Show me."

"Very well. But only you may enter. Your companions must wait here," the lead spirit said.

"I assure you they are pure of heart," Krystal said, glancing at Falco and Slippy. It might have seemed absurd to describe Falco that way, but pure of heart had many different meanings among telepaths and Krazoa, many of them good, many of them neutral, and a few of them evil. It was for this reason that Andross and General Scales had been able to manipulate the Krazoa. A heart of pure evil was still pure of heart.

"This we know." All three spirits seemed to speak at once, and Krystal noted that both Falco and Slippy looked a bit freaked out by the sound of the voices in their heads. "But this task is yours. The nature of the Wind Jewel and the Wind Chamber are comprehensible to telepaths alone. Your friends would see nothing, feel nothing. It is a chamber of Thought. For you, vast and infinite, for them nothing but a small cave."

Krystal understood. This wouldn't be a physical journey. Whatever distance she covered, and whatever flamethrowing obstacles she faced, would be in her mind, not in the world around her.

Turning to Falco and Slippy she said, "I'm sorry, but I will have to do this alone."

"Are you sure?" Slippy asked. He was clearly nervous about the thought, but she gave him credit. His bravery was unmatched on the team. To be so terrified of what they did, and yet never stop doing it, was the mark of a courage truer than any Krystal had ever known.

"Yeah, come on, I got a big brain," Falco said. "I bet I can handle it."

"It's not like that." Krystal frowned and willed her tail not to wrap around her legs. "I have to do this on my own, and I don't think we have the time to stand around arguing about it."

Falco and Slippy glanced at each other and then nodded. "Alright. Good luck," Falco said.

Nodding and sending them both a burst of thanks and confidence, Krystal turned and followed the Krazoa into the Palace. They descended via a network of wind lifts, and Krystal felt joy leap to her heart to see how busy and bustling the place was. Even more dinosaurs crowded the inside, many of them young and being guided and shown around by older dinosaurs. She saw more spirits, many more than just the six most powerful. When the Six Krazoa had been returned from their shrines, many of the minor spirits had felt safe enough to return. They came in all shapes and sizes, some of them merely wisps of light, but each one pulsed with telepathic energy, and the feeling of so many of them in such close proximity almost made Krystal think she was back home, on Cerinia.

Finally they reached the bottom of the Palace. The spirits led her to a wall that, as far as she could tell, was only a wall. Of course looks were often deceiving when it came to the Krazoa, and she recalled how amazed Fox had been when the Krazoa had shown him some of the numerous hidden chambers, passages, and complexes that he had never known about during his initial trips to the Palace during the Saurian Crisis. One day, when they had more free time, both she and Fox wanted to come and explore the whole place together.

Stopping nanometers from the wall the spirits began to chant softly in their language, and a few moments later the wall rippled and disappeared. Beyond the now open portal was a small, square room, with a single warp pad in the center. The warp pad glowed with energy, orange lights emerging from the glass and metal base. Glancing at the spirits she nodded and stepped inside, still holding the emerald in both arms.

Behind her the wall reformed, and the only light came from the glow of the pad beneath her. She stepped onto it and felt the energies travel up her legs and her spine. A tingling sensation covered her body, and she knew she was about to be transported. A few seconds later, and after a brief tumbling sensation, she found herself in another room, as small as the one she had left.

This one was circular, and squat, rounded columns lined the curved walls. In front of her she saw a rippling pattern of energy and what looked like water. Behind it she saw a slot where the emerald would fit. So, it would be as easy as slotting it in.

Stepping off the platform she held out the emerald, and then felt a tremendous gust of wind. It was so powerful it sent her flying backwards. She felt her head smack against one of the columns, and then her vision darkened and her body went slack. Unconscious.

()()()()

"Hey sleepy head." His voice filled her ears, a sweet music, not too deep and not too high, a confident rumble and a touching pitch of good humor. Fox often told her how much he adored her voice, with its musical accent that reminded him of the sound of the water in the estuary that he and his friends used to play in. He never believed her when she told him his voice sounded just as beautiful to her, but it did. It was a voice that made her feel safe, and loved, and valued as a person, and not an object of want or desire.

Sitting up she saw her vision begin to clear, and she gasped at the sight of him. He stood at the front of a sailboat, shirtless, and with the sun glinting off of his orange fur. It almost made him look as if he were made of pure starfire. He was clothed in a pair of loose fitting green swim trunks, and he wore sandals on his feet. Her eyes traveled up his chest, rippling with his musculature and covered with scars. Once he had been afraid to show her those scars, afraid that they would mar his image in her eyes. It had taken a while, but eventually he'd gotten it through his head that they only enhanced his beauty. Each one of them told a story, and she delighted in tracing them with her fingers and hearing him tell her where each one had come from.

As pleasing as the image and the scent of him here was, she knew it couldn't be real. With a sigh she stood up and said, "It's not really you, is it?"

Fox smiled and spread his hands. "Let's just say this is me in your head. But no, it's not really him."

"Why am I here?" Krystal asked.

"Beats me." Fox shrugged. "I'm in your head, remember?" Fox tapped her forehead and grinned, his tail wagging with that impish glee he got whenever he got to tease and needle like any vulpine excelled at.

"I was supposed to be putting an emerald back for the Krazoa," Krystal said, thinking. She glanced around at their surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I think it's Cape Claw?" Fox glanced around too. Then he pointed and said, "Yup. There's the HighTop."

Krystal looked where he was pointing and nodded. That was the HighTop alright. What would she be doing here? Turning around she spotted an island off in the distance. She had never been there. Something about it called to her though. "That island. How long would it take us to get there?"

Scrunching up his face as he ran the calculations, Fox said, "An hour. Maybe two? Why?"

Returning to the spot where she'd woken up she tossed aside a bundle of cloth she found there and smiled when she saw the emerald. "Because the emerald wants to go there."

"I thought you were putting it back for the Krazoa," Fox pointed out.

"I am. But Krazoa relics are often linked." Krystal hefted the emerald and regarded it. No matter which way she turned it she saw what appeared to be the reflection of the island in the faceted edges. It definitely wanted to go there. No physically, but mentally. Once there it would probably link to another gem, and, with any luck, whatever arcane magic was at work would be back to normal. "We should go there."

Fox nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Help me with the sail."

They got the sail unfurled and set out. Fox handled the navigation, and Krystal allowed herself to sink into the fantasy and start thinking of him as Fox. There was nothing wrong with that. It was what her mind and spirit wanted her to do, to help her get through whatever was coming.

Truly he looked magnificent, working the sail, his muscles rippling with the effort. She'd always thought he looked dreamy, and now, subsumed entirely in a dream, she thought he looked even better.

His looks were not the only thing she loved though. And it showed in how this doppelganger behaved. He looked at her and his eyes held love and trust. They did not gaze through her or at her, but rather on her. He took in every detail of her, from her fur to her eyes to her heart and her mind. He saw in her a biting intelligence, a razor sharp wit, an unstoppable determination, and a confidence that she had found her place in the universe.

Desire flickered behind the emerald irises of his eyes, and she basked in that as well. It felt good to be desired, especially when the desire was fueled by love, trust, and adoration. Part of her wished she could take him here and now, and feel the comfort of his arms, and the sensation of fullness when he shared her body. She restrained herself though. There were more important things to worry about, namely getting the real Fox back.

An hour passed, and then another twenty minutes, and then they were running up on the shore. Krystal stood up from where she had sat cross legged through the voyage. Reaching down to her hip she took her staff in hand and flicked it to its full extension. Behind her she felt Fox pat her shoulder, and she nodded. A moment later the doppelganger Fox had his own staff, identical to hers. He needed a weapon, and this was the one that she most associated with him. Strange, since it was hers, but true nonetheless. His Cornerian weapons, his blasters and rocket launchers and sniper rifles were all well and good, and he used them exclusively now that she had retaken ownership of her staff, but they were cold, heartless machines. Not like her staff. Her staff existed as a part of herself, and as a part of him, both metaphorically and literally. It had left its imprint on both of their minds, and would forever be a weapon that belonged to both of them, in equal measure.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," Fox replied.

"Right." She grabbed the emerald and handed it to him. He put it in her backpack, and then they stepped onto the sand. "Let's do this thing."

Before them was a large island, overgrown with lush, green forest and jungle. Krystal's eyes spotted numerous large ferns near the ground, covering the thick trunks of trees. Moss clung to the rocks that she could see, and flowers sprouted on the ground, sheltered from the sun by the low rising ferns.

Her nose was having a field day. Jungles like this always held her favorite smells. The sweetness of the flowers, the mustiness of damp wood and soft dirt, and the sickly scent of decay that came from beneath the large colonies of mushrooms. Some of those mushrooms were hopping up and down, or swaying gently in place. Grubtubs, an EarthWalker's favorite food. They were not sentient, but they did possess a rather strange intelligence. More than likely she was anthropomorphising because of the fact that they hopped around when you got near them.

Crossing the beach Krystal let her toes sink into the soft white sand. It would get under her nails, and as uncomfortable as that would be she much preferred it to the sterile, metal confines of a ship. She loved being in space and traveling among the stars, but one day she wanted to settle down somewhere with a lot of green grass, colorful flowers, and pristine beach. Looking at this island a fleeting notion came to her that, maybe, this would be a good place to come with Fox one day and build a house to settle down in. Maybe. She wanted to have children, and beautiful as Sauria was, it simply wasn't the environment she wanted them to grow up in.

When they reached the edge of the jungle Krystal closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Although this was a place she had never been, the fact that it was within the confines of her own mind meant that she would have some instinctive familiarity with it. Directly accessing it like a map to find where they needed to go would be beyond her abilities, but getting a sense of the right direction? That she could do.

Stretching out with her sixth sense Krystal tried to find the path forward. At first she didn't feel anything, but she didn't allow that to discourage her. Her sixth sense never lied, but it had its share of shortcomings. The things she sensed were not always straightforward, and her use of it was no better than that of a gifted novice on her homeworld. In a task such as this she would have had the benefit of an experienced guide if she were on Cerinia. As it stood though all she could count on to watch her back was her doppelganger Fox.

Minutes passed, or it could have been hours, perhaps no more than a few seconds, and then she felt the wind at her back. It came in off the ocean, smelling of salt, and then it blew passed her. She opened her eyes and grinned, a cry of excitement leaving her lips as she realized what she was seeing. Flying away from her, curving and dancing in the air, were strings of scintillating blue light. "The Winds!"

"The Winds." Fox wagged his tail. "So that's what they are."

Krystal glanced at him, her expression of joy never wavering. Her own people had had a term for them, though it had been something she had yet to be taught about when her people were annihilated. A brief pang of melancholy threatened her good mood as she thought of all the things she might never know, but she banished it. The Winds were the psionic energy that flowed throughout the universe. Tendrils of thought from every living being in existence. And they were there to guide her.

"This way." She pointed ahead and the two of them dove into the jungle. She didn't need to see the wisps of thought to know where they were leading her. She blazed a path through the foliage, pushing aside brush and bramble with her staff.

She and doppelganger Fox stopped when they reached a river. It flowed rapidly, white, frothy water gushing around a series of stones that rose above the waterline. On the other side the Winds had paused, and they circled around each other, sending breezes her way full of music and hope. She had never felt anything like it, and it made her giddy with excitement. Pure thought. Pure energy. Even more so than the Krazoa.

"After you," Fox said, pointing to the rocks.

"Such a gentleman." Krystal hopped off the shore and onto the first stepping stone. Then to the next and the next. Each time she landed with a sure foot and a burst of energy that carried her forward. Around her the water continued to gush, and the roar of it filled her ears. Over that roar she could hear the whispers of the Winds. They were inscrutable, in a mishmash of a million different languages and thought patterns.

Reaching the opposite shore she watched as her doppelganger Fox followed, and then the two of them set off into the forest again. The Winds surged ahead of them, and Krystal followed. After a long walk they reached a place where the Winds stopped again.

"A temple?" Fox asked.

"I suppose." Krystal looked at it. An entrance led inside, flanked by a pair of aging Krazoa statues. One stood straight up, the other at an angle. Both of them showed a few flecks of the paint that had once adorned them in deep, lively colors. The pearls that had once been in their eyes had long since fallen away.

The entrance itself led underground, and looked both dark and ominous. When she tried to sense what was inside, to see if she could tell a direction she was supposed to go once she entered, Krystal found nothing. Not like the place was empty, but as if it weren't there. Frowning she glanced at the Winds. They hovered right in front of it, but any time they looked as if they were about to enter they pulled back. The whispering from them had grown agitated, and Krystal tried to reach out to them.

Surging, the Winds kicked up a gale around them when Krystal's mind made contact. She didn't let that deter her though. She pressed forward and asked them if this was the place. What she received in answer was a burst of emotion, universal and easily translatable. They wanted to go inside, but something prevented them.

From inside her backpack she felt the emerald stir.

"Whoa!"

She turned and saw Fox almost raise his staff. The emerald had emerged from her backpack and begun floating towards the entrance. It pulsed with what almost appeared to be eagerness. Like the Winds though, it did not enter. Whatever the problem was down there, it apparently had the Winds upset. Obviously the emerald was the key.

"I need to put it somewhere down there, don't I?"

Another emotion burst from the Winds. Affirmation. Confirmation. She smiled and grabbed the emerald, replacing it in her pack. "Alright. Sounds good to me."

Lighting the tip of her staff Krystal beckoned doppelganger Fox to follow her, and the two of them headed down into the murky depths of the forgotten temple.

When they reached the bottom of the steps their view opened up onto a long, wide corridor. Light filtered in from behind large stained glass windows. Where that light came from she had no idea, considering they were underground. She put it down to the usual magic of the Krazoa, or there might have been torches or other illumination devices behind them that were obscured by the flowing, colorful patterns of the glass.

Besides that one of the first things she noticed was that the air was still and lifeless. She didn't smell anything, and no breeze or gust made her hair wave or tail billow.

"It feels like a tomb in here," Fox said, hefting his staff.

"And where there's a tomb..." Krystal ducked at exactly the right moment. Her sixth sense sent a shiver of warning down her spine and she dropped into a crouch as a staff whistled over her head. She turned on her heel and saw a Krazoa Golem standing behind her. It's big, emotionless face stared at her, and the clay of its body rippled as it brought the staff in its hands back to a ready position.

Golems were a rare sight on Sauria, but she had encountered them on other worlds. They were not robots per se, as they were animated and controlled by magical rather than electronic or mechanical energy, but they often proved just as, if not more resilient.

Krystal, Fox, and the golem circled one another, looking for an opening in the other's defenses. Although they had the automaton outnumbered Krystal didn't assume that they had the advantage. A golem was never to be underestimated. They were a far cry from the more common Jelly Sentries, whose only real strength came in numbers. A golem was as close to a true Krazoa Warrior as anyone alive would ever see.

Once again the golem struck first, lunging forward in a move that looked as if it were aimed at Krystal when, at the last moment, it pivoted and struck out at doppelganger Fox. Fox was barely able to bring his staff up in time to parry the attack, and it hit with enough force that Fox went stumbling back.

Growling and feeling her protective instincts rising once more to the fore Krystal moved to distract the golem and give Fox the time he needed to recover and get back into the fight. Anticipating her move the golem was able to block her assault, and the two of them exchanged a flurry of blows. Krystal dodged rather than blocked, knowing that the golem would have superior physical strength in any match up.

Behind the golem doppelganger Fox regrouped and went in for the attack. Silently the golem spun and defended itself, then lashed out with a kick that sent Krystal sprawling when she tried to move in from behind.

Smacking her head on the ground she groaned and her vision blurred. She picked herself up, slowly. Her arms didn't have the strength though, and fell back to the ground. Her head hurt and her ears rung from the impact.

As her vision cleared she looked over and saw doppelganger Fox. The golem had him by the throat, his staff at his feet. Krystal swore and tried to pick herself up again. This time she succeeded. She adopted a combat posture and let out a piercing war cry.

The golem turned its head and stared at her, then dropped Fox on the ground and started stomping towards her. Fox hit the ground and hacked and coughed, definitely out of the fight for the moment.

As the golem stomped closer Krystal realized that in a straight up fight she and Fox were never going to win. The golem had faster reaction times, far greater strength, and she didn't even want to guess at the recuperative abilities. More than likely any hit they did manage to land would be ineffectual. That meant she had to take this in another direction.

Closing her eyes she put her staff on the ground in front of her. She sensed doppelganger Fox staring at her, confused and scared, but still unable to catch his breath. Krystal ignored him and instead focused her mind on the golem. Golems had a weakness, everything did, all she had to do was find it.

Although her training had never been completed, Krystal had always been a naturally gifted telepath. Her mind snaked out in invisible tendrils that wrapped around the golem, seeking the place where its mind resided. When she found it she attacked. Even with her eyes closed she could see that it had stopped.

The golem's mind was ordered, powerful, and complex. She couldn't make it dissolve or stop attacking, but she could paralyze it for a few moments before it forced her mind out of its own. "Fox," she said, the words costing her precious focus, but they had to be said. "Now!"

Her eyes shot open when she felt it. She looked and saw the point of Fox's staff stabbing through the golem's chest. The golem itself looked down, and even though it remained expressionless, Krystal could sense the shock that it had been bested. Shock, and also satisfaction. From the spot where Fox had injured it emerged a small, purple glowing spirit. One of the less Krazoa. Of course, no wonder its mind had been so orderly and powerful.

Spinning around the room a few times, the lesser spirit finally hovered in front of her eyes, and she didn't react when it forced its way inside of her. She felt it rummage around her head, tasting her memories, emotions, and intentions. Within an instant it had determined that she was pure of heart, and not a threat to this place.

It left her with a whisper, and further down the corridor a door opened. Krystal nodded to doppelganger Fox who gave her a thumbs up. She took off her backpack and took the emerald out. It hummed and glowed and vibrated with energy, and she walked over to where a dais with a precisely carved inset stood. As simple as slotting into a new place.

She pressed it in, then stepped away. For a second nothing happened, and then she felt them. The Winds came careening into the place, filling with a powerful gale that eventually settled to a cool breeze. A cool breeze that carried the most precious message of all. Krystal grinned and laughed and wagged her tail.

The Winds were everywhere, flowing through all of Lylat now. No one but her would really notice them, but with them she could feel a surge of perception. They flowed through her, and the power that they held was intoxicating. She could barely keep control of herself. She saw everything for an instant, and then the Winds guided her to what she wanted. She saw him. Saw Fox. The real Fox. She knew where he was, and she was going to save him.


	7. Favorable Winds

**Chapter 6**

 **Favorable Winds**

It appeared for only a moment. A bright green disc silhouetted by the infinite blackness of space, and with the stars speckled behind it. A Gate lens from the Orbital Gate in orbit above Corneria. The Gate was the pride and joy of Cornerian science, the result of a decades long collaboration between the engineers at Space Dynamics-Phoenix Corp and the scientists at the Cornerian Research Institute. It had yielded fruit only a few short years ago, but it had now been harnessed to provide space travel through quantum tunnels to freighter convoys and military battlegroups. And, as of only a few hours ago, it had been modified for something much, much smaller.

"Woo! I never get tired of that."

Krystal glanced at the fennec vixen sitting beside her in the cramped cockpit of a prototype jumpship. "Tired of what?"

"That feeling," Fara said. "We just jumped halfway across the solar system in a second! In a ship not much bigger than a light freighter. Isn't that amazing?"

"I suppose it is when you put it like that." Krystal shrugged. She recognized that the success of the prototype jumpship, which Fara had named _Cesium Miracle_ was a major breakthrough. Before now the Gate had only ever successfully teleported large vessels or groups of smaller vessels. The modifications Fara had made to both the Gate and this prototype were nothing short of miraculous from a scientific and engineering perspective. They were also not the aspect of this mission that Krystal was concerned about.

"Sorry," Fara said. "I know that the science isn't really the important thing right now." Leaning forward she opened the intercom. "Falco? You all good down there?"

"Yeah. Gimme a sec." A moment later the doors to the cockpit opened and Falco came in. He walked a bit unsteadily, and Krystal noticed he was a bit green around the beak. More than a bit really. He looked like Slippy. Speaking of.

Krystal tapped the comm and said, "Slippy? How does the engine look? Will we be ready to jump out of here when we need to?"

There was a sound of something falling, followed by disgruntled toad noises, and then Slippy's voice reached them over the intercom from the even more cramped engine room. "We'll be fine. Tell Fara this ship is amazing. I couldn't have designed her better myself."

Closing the comm line Krystal looked back at Falco. He had taken a seat at the auxiliary station. "I never knew you had a bad reaction to Gate travel."

Falco nodded, keeping his beak tightly sealed. Fara opened a small compartment and rifled around for something. When she found what she was looking for she pulled it out and handed it to Falco. "This will help."

Taking the plastic bag she offered Falco pulled it open and Krystal's nose immediately twitched at the scent of crystallized ginger. "Do you always keep spices on your ships?" she asked Fara.

The fennec smiled and said, "Jumpships, yeah. It pays to be thoughtful."

"Uh huh." Krystal turned to the forward viewport and watched as Titania slowly grew closer. She had honestly been expecting Oikonny to hold Fox on Venom, but perhaps that would have been too obvious. Venom was the heart of his empire and, because of that, filled to the brim with Cornerian spies and informants. Titania on the other hand was a dust ball with a sparse and nomadic population. The perfect hiding place.

"I hate Gate travel," Falco grunted from behind the two women.

"We were in a rush," Fara said. "You good to fly?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it goes away pretty fast." He stood up and Fara vacated her seat. Krystal did the same. "I still think I should be going down there with you."

"We need a pilot," Krystal said. "And we don't have a set of armor for you."

"Besides," Fara added, "You don't seriously think I would leave my prize jumpship unattended, do you?"

Krystal didn't bother to mention the fact that leaving it with Falco was hardly an improvement. It was the difference between leaving the car unlocked, and leaving the car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. Then again, with such an obviously strong aversion to Gate travel, a prototype jumpship like this probably didn't seem all that tempting a prize to the avian.

Falco muttered something and Krystal ignored him, instead taking the short ladder down to the lower level. The _Cesium Miracle_ had three main compartments. The cockpit, the engine room, and on the lower level a general purpose space that could be used as either a small living area for extended journeys, or, in this case, as a storage area for two sets of an experimental armor system that Phoenix Corp had been working on.

Semi-Powered Combat armor, or SPC, was the latest in a long line of attempts at creating powered armor for infantry units. Before now none of those experiments had managed to truly succeed. They were either so powerful that the enhanced strength and speed offered by the armor snapped bone when being used, or so power hungry that they couldn't carry an onboard generator, and thus had to be powered by microwave transmission, which was about the furthest thing from practical imaginable for a battlefield deployment.

SPC was different though. Rather than a complicated system of miniaturized hydraulics powered by a fusion generator, this armor was instead powered by a liquid crystal that generated its own power, while enhancing speed, strength, and reaction time by a factor of four. Not as much as the older models, but it was well within the tolerances of unenhanced anthroforms, and would still give a tremendous advantage in combat.

It was still far from being cheap enough to outfit an army with it, but Krystal knew that Fox had been discussing getting suits for the rest of the team, something which Krystal wholeheartedly supported. Having access to the armor would make them as invincible on the ground as the Arwings made them in space.

"Ready to suit up?" Fara asked.

Krystal nodded. "Yes." Using her wristcomm to make sure she was picked up by everyone in the ship, she said, "We're all clear on the plan?"

"Yeah," came Falco's voice. "It ain't exactly protocol though Blue."

"I thought you would like that part," Krystal replied, speaking as she started putting on the armor, one piece at a time.

"I do." Falco chuckled. "Ape won't know what hit him. Probably end the threat from Venom for good."

That seemed optimistic, but Krystal wasn't about to contradict Falco. If all went well here they would be able to rescue Fox, and deal a crippling blow to the Venomians.

As she reached for her helmet Krystal felt a brief gust in the compartment. Fara noticed it as well and glanced at the nearby ventilation duct. "Was that a glitch, or your friend in high places?"

Krystal grinned and said, "Friend. Falco is right. He really won't know what hit him."

()()()()

Titania was a hot, dusty, lifeless place. At one point it had been classified as uninhabitable, and even after that classification had been lifted, few major settlements had been created. There simply wasn't a reason for a large population. As it stood there were perhaps a million desert dwelling nomads, people looking to live a simpler life than they could on one of the more densely populated worlds of Lylat, and about a half dozen small cities devoted mainly to smuggling, black market activity, and providing a haven for those who had no wish to be found.

It's only real point of interest these days were the extensive ruins strewn across its surface. In spite of the dangers that existed all across the planet, teams of scientists and archeologists arrived every now and then for digs and research. Star Fox had even provided security for one or two of them before. Fox vaguely recalled one of the doctors prattling on about the lost tribe of Cornerus, but Fox hadn't paid much attention. He preferred to focus on current events.

Titania had, however, been a battleground during the Lylat Wars. Fox had come here to rescue Slippy after an operation in Sector X had gone sideways. He'd fought against some Venomian automated armor, and blasted a bunch of the native wildlife, which was dangerous, invasive, and in some cases mutated by Andross's meddling.

Titania had the honor in Lylat of being one of the first areas that Andross had tried his biological manipulation. The terrors he had constructed had taken years to wipe out, and had claimed the lives of thousands. Fox had happily taken part in some of the thornier ops. Though after that had been done he had really been hoping never to come here again.

The nature of the sparsely populated world, ideal for clandestine operations, meant that there were numerous hidden bases across the surface, many of them belonging to the Venomians, and the rest to criminal outfits. Corneria had no presence here. It was too far on the fringes, and the Venomians had too strong a grip. Besides, the dustball wasn't really worth fighting over. Fox had to give Oikonny credit, putting him here rather than on Venom was a stroke of genius. Corneria would never have thought to look here, and even if they had, they would never have been able to comb the entire planet in time to find him.

Outside the forcefield of his cell Fox could see for exactly six feet. Four cameras watched his every move, and he was reasonably sure there were more that he hadn't found. He had been allotted a single cot with a single blanket, and a toilet in the corner. At least the toilet was a proper piece of plumbing, and not some hole leading to a cesspit. Despite that it had taken him the better part of a day to work up the nerve to use it with the cameras on him. Just a little added humiliation for the great hero of Lylat. He prayed that no opportunistic Venomian security personnel ever got the idea to sell the footage to a Corneria tabloid.

Despite all of this and given his circumstances he supposed he was fortunate to have been provided with as much as he had been. During the war Venom's treatment of prisoners had been so horrific, with forced labor and medical experiments being only two of the manifold cruelties that could be expected, virtually every Cornerian and allied unit had elected to fight to the death rather than surrender. Fox's admiration for that sort of courage had never waned, and he often brought it up to change the subject when reporters and adoring hero worshipers tried to make it sound like he had won the war on his own.

Getting up from his cot Fox paced his cell. It was small, only five paces from one end to another. He was happy he had shorter legs than some of the people he knew. The conditions were a bit less tortuous for him. Notwithstanding the daily visits he got from Wolf and his cronies, who were here along with Oikonny for the final day of his imprisonment. Fox got the feeling Oikonny had given Wolf permission to take part in the execution. What other reason did the lupine have to be so giddy when he came in and asked him inane and stupid questions about things like his legs.

The worst of the visits had been Panther though. Panther fucking Caroso. Who came in to ask him questions about Krystal. What was her favorite kind of flower? (always disappointed when Fox said whatever it was it sure as hell wasn't roses) What did she like to eat? Did she prefer cologne or natural scent? About the only thing that kept Fox from trying to throttle the feline through the forcefield was the sure and confident knowledge that, even if Fox died, Krystal would never sully herself with Panther. Hell, she'd probably put a bullet in his head for this. The thought of a vengeful Krystal kicking Star Wolf's collective asses was actually kind of sexy, and Fox decided to file it away for once he and Krys were back together.

With nothing else to do Fox kicked at the one loose pebble he'd found in his otherwise smooth concrete prison. When he went back to Corneria he would put the pebble in his briefing as evidence that the Venomians did in fact follow guidelines on providing entertainment to prisoners for the benefit of their mental health. Actually, scratch that. Someone might not get the sarcasm, and that would be a whole new media circus.

If he stood on his cot he could see a little bit of the planet outside his cell. They were inside of a valley with sheer cliffs and plateaus all around them. The rocky spire that the facility had been built into sat on a natural water spring, and in the distance Fox knew there were caves where small rivers and miniature and green ecosystems existed. Outside he could also see the wind picking up severely. He hoped it started a sandstorm. Better yet a sandstorm with electromagnetic charge. At worst it would delay his execution, since it was to be transmitted live all over Lylat, and at best it might short out the forcefield in his cell and allow him to escape. He would keep dreaming.

Sitting back down on his cot Fox leaned against the cold, unforgiving concrete wall and tried to think of something other than his current situation, and the clock on the opposite wall that counted down to the second how much time was left before his death. Less than an hour. At least it would be over soon. Oikonny was probably getting ready for his big speech. Fox hoped it was a good one. The high pitched ape wasn't the best public speaker, and Fox already hated speeches. He'd rather his death not be prefaced by something the media would have noticed him fidgeting in the middle of.

It would be over soon. One way or another. Over before he'd had the chance to do even half the things he'd been wanting to do. Things like a vacation to Sauria with a certain blue vixen. A vacation where he had been planning to work up the nerve to ask her a question that had been burning in the back of his mind for awhile now. He was going to be damned if he let himself die without putting at least one ring on her finger.

Krystal. He thought of her all the time. When he got out of this he never wanted to be parted with her again. It figured that the first time they were separated for any length of time he went and got himself into the biggest mess since the bug war. If she ended up being the one to rescue him, which he knew she would be, he had a feeling he might never hear the end of it.

He still had every confidence that a rescue team would come bursting in to retrieve him before his time was up, but he also couldn't help it when the occasional morbid thought occurred to him. Perhaps the most troubling was the idea that his father, James McCloud, might have met his end in similar circumstances.

According to Peppy James had died fighting, but the hare also admitted that he hadn't seen exactly what happened to his father. Had he actually gone down in a blaze of glory? Fighting the Venomian ambushers and giving Peppy the time he needed to escape and warn Corneria of what was coming? Or had he been disabled, captured, thrown in a cell like this and made to watch everything that would unfold? Had he eventually been led to some anonymous patch of Venomian desert to be killed and tossed in an unmarked grave?

What gave Fox solace was that, if it had happened, he wouldn't have needed to speculate about it. Andross would have beamed the video of that execution across all of Lylat. The fact that he hadn't told Fox that, more than likely, his father had gone down fighting, and been reduced to atoms in the final act of saving his best friend and giving Lylat a chance to rally before Andross's blitz.

Of course then there was the fact that Fox had seen his father once during the war. He hadn't told anyone. Not even Krystal knew. But, during the final battle with Andross, when the ape had vowed to take Fox with him into death, his father had appeared in a battered but flight worthy Arwing, and guided Fox out of the labyrinthine tunnels of Andross's secret bunker. He had disappeared before Fox emerged seconds ahead of the cascading explosions, but Fox remembered the words his father had said to him. He had told him he was proud of him, and that he had become strong. Maybe James McCloud was still out there somewhere? No. It couldn't be. He hadn't told anyone because he knew it must have been an illusion. Some sort of manifestation of the flight instincts that he had been born with. Still, he wondered.

Fox's ears perked at the first sound he'd heard in hours. Footsteps. Rapid. Sprinting. Then he heard another, unmistakable noise. Gunfire, and the sweet sound of a staff fire blaster. Most people wouldn't have believed it, and probably would have refused to believe that rescue was coming for fear of being let down, but Fox knew that he had been right. His team hadn't given up on him, and in the back of his mind he sensed the sweet, reassuring presence of the vixen that he loved. He also noticed, but ignored, the fact that outside the wind had gotten even stronger, and a sandstorm had definitely started up.

Springing up from the cot he stood against the forcefield and desperately tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening.

One of the two doors to his cell opened, and Fox saw Wolf come sprinting in, weapon in hand, a wild look on his cycloptic features. "McCloud..."

Whatever he had intended to say he never finished it. The opposite door burst off its hinges, and two armored warriors came rushing in. One of them wielded a staff, and the other a standard issue plasma sub-machine gun. Fox recognized the armor. Highly experimental Semi-Power Combat armor. In fact the armor appeared to be the same two prototypes Fox had seen on his last visit to Phoenix Corporation. He really did need to put the down payment on the first limited series.

Wolf aimed his blaster at the first person through the door. Krystal, judging by the staff. He let off a few bolts, but Krystal absorbed them with the staff shield. Then she covered the few feet between them in what looked to the untrained eye like a single stride. Her already prodigious strength enhanced by the liquid crystal layer of the armor, she grabbed Wolf by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Wolf gurgled and his eye spat venom. Krystal, without hesitation, squeezed his neck. Fox watched as Wolf, his airway constricted, lost consciousness. He slumped, and Krystal let him fall to the ground.

Behind Krystal the second armored trooper deactivated the forcefield and then briefly made her helmet transparent. "Fara?" Fox shook his head in disbelief.

The fennec nodded, a smile on her face. "I figured the suits could use a combat test. And I designed them so..."

Krystal came over and doffed her helmet. Her hair stuck to her head and glistened with sweat. She smiled and held out her arms. Fox let her embrace him, and he kissed her once on the cheek, breathing in her musky vixen scent and thanking all that was holy that she had gotten here in time. "Miss me?" she said.

Fox laughed and said, "A little. Let's get outta here." He left her arms and grabbed Wolf's blaster. Setting the weapon to stun he aimed at the lupine, who was starting to come around, and fired. That would keep him out of their fur for the time being.

"I'm a little surprised you didn't kill him," Fara noted.

Fox looked over at her and flipped the toggle on the blaster, returning it to lethal mode. "He saved us during the Aparoid war. Next time I see him though, all debts are paid. I will take him down." He looked at Krystal. "You can have Panther though."

Krystal nodded seriously. She put her helmet back on and said, "If he sends me one more dick pic..."

Fox snarled, and Fara laughed. Then they heard the footsteps of more Venomian soldiers approaching, and Fox put all of that aside. They still needed to get out of here.

Krystal took point, using her staff shield to deflect the incoming fire as they exited the cell and made their way into the corridor. Venomians were pouring in from only one side. Fox remained behind cover, letting Fara and Krystal, whose armor afforded them faster reaction times, computer assisted aiming, and the ability to absorb a few shots, take on the enemy assault troops.

It was a slaughter. Fox had always been impressed by Krystal's abilities in the cockpit, but it was here, on the ground, that she turned into a truly terrifying warrior. Her staff glowed as it sent bolt after bolt into the oncoming horde of armored Venomians, each salvo hitting with a precision Fox had never been able to so much as approach when he had used her staff on Sauria. As she fired Krystal advanced, alternately using her staff's shield to ward off enemy fire as she closed the distance, and then using her blaster to take out whole squads as they tried to reload.

The corridor began to fill with bodies, and from behind them a second door opened. Trusting Krystal to clear them a path, Fox and Fara focused on the enemy flank attempt. Fox sighted with Wolf's blaster and opened fire. He and Fara cut them down remorselessly, and they soon had the remaining reinforcements taking cover in the corridor's recessed doorways.

Fox felt his tail begin to wag as he heard the rough thwacking noises of Krystal's staff. She'd closed in, and was now handing the Venomians their collective asses in close quarter combat. Knowing that their exit was clearing Fox and Fara began to fall back, keeping up a constant stream of suppressing fire.

A few moments later they were out of the corridor and into the main room. There were elevators to one side and emergency stairs nearby. Fox paused when he heard a familiar voice speechifying. "Oikonny."

Krystal nodded. "One floor up. He's making a speech in preparation for your execution."

"Wanna heckle him?" Fox grinned in a manner that, were it not for his golden heart, might have been seen as truly evil.

Both Fara and Krystal's armored tails wagged as Fara said, "Trust us, that's part of the plan. Or at least some version of it."

Sprinting for the emergency stairs Fox tried to open them but found the door jammed. He stepped back and nodded to Krystal, who kicked out with the heel of her boot and sent the metal door crumpling into the stairwell, where it slid down and caught a whole squad of Venomian troopers on their way up. As the vixens sprinted ahead Fox aimed and fired at the troopers, making certain they wouldn't be causing any problems.

Following in the wake of his power armored rescuers Fox received further proof that the SPC armor needed to be his as soon as Fara went into limited scale production. The elite Imperial Guard were now standing between them and Oikonny. Armed with forcepikes they were engaging both Fara and Krystal in hand to hand combat. Fox paused in the doorway of the emergency stairwell and watched as the vixens grabbed the pikes, broke them in half, and then demolished any further resistance.

Stepping into the corridor Fox stepped over the bodies of the Imperial Guard and pointed to the reinforced door that was now their only obstacle. "We better hurry, they'll be evacuating him."

"Charges?" Fara suggested.

Krystal shook her head. "We might kill him. We need him alive. I got this." Stepping up to the door she pressed her staff against it and Fox felt the rumblings of a building seismic charge. Whereas an explosion would send the doors flying and shrapnel and smoke everywhere, the shaped and highly controlled charge of the staff's quake ability would bend the doors open with a sudden burst of force. It would also be far more dramatic.

With a _whump!_ the doors burst open, swinging on their hinges. Krystal, Fara, and Fox charged in to find another squad of Imperial Guard. And Oikonny running for his life. Fox could see out the one window in the room a waiting transport. He didn't fancy the idea of the pilot flying in the sandstorm out there, but he supposed the poor sod didn't have a choice. It was either that or lose the Emperor. Oikonny was mere steps from freedom. "Guys?" Fox asked, shooting a guardsman in the stomach.

"Oh he's not getting away." Krystal paused and let her staff clatter to the ground. Then Fox watched in amazement as tiny, flitting beams of energy formed around her. He felt a breeze, then it turned to a wind, and then a hurricane gale. It was deafening noise of pure rage, and it all swept through the room to envelop Oikonny. The ape screamed and cursed and wailed, but he couldn't escape.

"What in the seventeen heavens is that?" Fox asked.

Oikonny came careening over to them, and Fox grabbed him and wrapped an arm around his neck, pressing the barrel of his blaster into the ape's back.

Krystal turned around and switched her visor to transparent. Smiling she said, "Don't turn your back on an angry vixen. Especially a Cerinian. And especially one whom the Winds owe a favor."

Fox shook his head and smiled. He flipped the setting on his blaster again and stunned Oikonny, feeling the ape fall limp in his grasp. "You have a story to tell me, don't you?"

Wagging her tail Krystal gave him a sultry look. "It can wait. Now, let's get out of here."

()()()()

It hadn't been strictly Star Fox procedure, but it had worked. With Oikonny as their hostage they had cleared the facility, and the sandstorm, apparently caused by the same Winds Krystal had used to capture Oikonny, had parted the storm for them and led them to the prototype jumpship Fara had used for the insertion. Prisoner in tow they had headed back to Corneria, making a Gate jump that had left Falco running for the bathroom with his wing over his beak. Poor guy. Fox always forgot he reacted badly to translocation.

Fox's return to Corneria had been pure chaos. He'd stayed for a few days, interviewing with the press, debriefing with military, intelligence, and political groups, and generally making certain that everyone knew he was no worse for wear. Then, as soon as etiquette had allowed, and after a quick check on the new _Great Fox_ , he and Krystal had jetted off for Sauria.

While they were there, escaping from civilization and living in a manner far more conducive to relaxation and decompression, Oikonny had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison or a thousand years, whichever came first. Venom had started upheaving, and Star Wolf remained at large. And, all the Venomian war criminals originally imprisoned on Corneria remained confined to their cells and under lock and key. Overall, not the result Oikonny and his band of villains had been looking forward to when they pulled off the biggest kidnapping in a century.

Now, a month later, Fox lay naked in his own bed on Corneria, with the city lights glowing yellow in the distance, and his vixen pressed up against him.

Pulling back from a kiss Fox stared into her eyes and smiled softly. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she said, a little weakly.

He shifted so that he was lying next to her and not on top of her, and she quickly draped an arm over his chest. She had that dreamy look she always got after they made love. That look that always reminded him he'd been her first, and that he hadn't disappointed. Neither of them had grown jaded or ungrateful for the gifts they gave each other.

Her head rested on his shoulder, and he saw her moving the hand on his chest so that the ring on her finger caught the soft lighting in the room. In the background jazz music played, and Fox had the little faux bedroom fireplace going for the added ambience. "This ring is absurd," Krystal said, her tail wagging. "A diamond, a sapphire, and an orange amber. How did you afford it?"

Fox shrugged. "I have my ways." Truth be told a jeweler in Corneria City had owed him a favor, and the fact that Fox had let him take a photo of him buying the ring hadn't hurt. At least he'd managed to convince the guy not to rename his whole business in honor of the event.

"I'm glad I have you back," Krystal said.

"I'm glad to be back." Fox held her close. Even after a month together on Sauria, the two of them continued to have slight separation issues. They'd been grocery shopping together lately. Though how long that would actually last, with Krystal's insistence on brand name cereal, and Fox's innate desire to save money at every opportunity, was anyone's guess.

"Tomorrow is the shakedown," Krystal mentioned, drawing circles in his chest fur with a claw.

"Yup."

"Should we be rested?" Krystal asked, glancing up at him and meeting his eyes.

Fox chuckled and pulled her on top of him. He smirked and said, "I intend to be exhausted."

Grinning back at him Krystal replied, "So do I."

()()()()

Outwardly the new _Great Fox II_ looked almost identical to its predecessor which had been lost at the Aparoid homeworld. And, in many ways it was the same. But under the hood there were significant differences. It was faster, better armed and armored, and had a few added luxuries that the original had never had. This included a recreation deck complete with a combination basketball and gravball court, pool, and hot tub, as well as an enhanced holodeck, a secondary hangar for support craft and a new experimental jumpship, and an armory that contained a suit of SPC armor for every active member of the team.

It had all come at a cost that had been covered almost entirely by the insanely expensive insurance policy Fox had inherited from his father. All those years of paying premiums had paid off as Fox stepped onto the bridge, wearing his green jumpsuit and khaki jacket, sleeves rolled up to show his forearms.

Falco, Slippy, ROB, and Krystal were all at their stations. Slippy manned the rear engineering console, Falco sat near the conn, which was controlled by ROB, and Krystal sat in the seat at Fox's right hand, his first mate, and real life mate. In addition there was one new face, sitting with her feet up and doing her nails at one of the auxiliary stations. "Fara," Fox said with a smile. "Welcome to the team." The fennec, desperate to get out of her corporate office at Space Dynamics-Phoenix Corp, had signed onto the team as an assistant engineer with Slippy, and as part of the flight and combat roster. That addition had allowed Slippy to finally move out of his combat roll for the most part, sticking with the ship and providing the same kind of support Peppy had once supplied before his retirement.

Fara had also brought with her an experimental jumpship, the _Cesium Miracle_ , and the SPC armor the team would now be utilizing during ground engagements. "Happy to be here," Fara answered with a smile. She shot Krystal a look, and Fox sensed some unspoken gossip pass between them. He ignored it. If it was important Fox would have a fun time working it out of Krystal later.

Taking his seat in the command chair Fox glanced at the map of Lylat being projected on the viewscreen at the front of the bridge. He noted a few friendly dots, and identified them as Katt Monroe out by Zoness, and the bounty hunting duo Miyu and Fay near Macbeth. There were also red trouble spots, areas they would avoid for this shakedown cruise.

"Destination?" ROB inquired, his robotic digits poised over the _Great Fox II_ 's controls.

Fox pursed his lips, glanced at Krystal, and then said with a wag of his tail, "I don't know. Surprise me."

ROB acknowledged and entered in a course of his own choosing. It was projected on the screen and Fox nodded. That way was bound to be interesting. Reaching over to Krystal he took her hand in his and squeezed. He met her eyes and knew for certain that their adventures were just beginning.

 _ **THE END**_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ And so we bring this story to a close! I nice episode in the lives of Star Fox. I hope you all enjoyed, this was a real blast to write. As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favd, followed, or just plain read the story, it means a great deal to me!

If you're in need of more Fox/Krystal, my other ongoing story, Star Fox: The Storm, just updated today, because double update!

Well, with all that said, I hope everyone had a good holiday last week, and I'll see you starside!

-furfurfurfurfurfurfurfr


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